He Is Coming
by Loki'sArmyOfTwo
Summary: Thanos won't accept failure, Loki has gone missing from Asgardian prison, no one knows where to. Only Tony has an idea, from an unintended confession. From a broken, green-eyed god, about to be silenced for his fear of failure. Eventual FrostIron, hints at torture, rating for safety.
1. Prologue

**So here's my first _intended_ multi-chaptered fic. 'Another!' doesn't count, because they're all one shots and stuffs. I quite like it. Thanks to P.B for the prompt, as always. So here's the prologue. It's eventual FrostIron, Toki, Lark, whatever you want to call it. It'll get there.**

**Hope you like~**

**I don't own anything.**

* * *

Tony Stark approached him with something metal in his hand. A muzzle, Loki noticed with a distant curiosity. Nothing really seemed to matter much any more. Not after the Chitauri. Not after…

"Why so worried, Loki? It's just a muzzle." The words were taunting, sharp-edged, violent.

The despondent figure glanced up briefly, and the gaze that met the billionaire's was lonely, sad and tinged with madness and fear. The grin that he was given was razor sharp and what Tony would have defined as clinically insane.

"I'm not worried, Stark." Tony almost had to lean closer to hear the words. He was playing with fire, he knew. The god was violent and unstable, even with his magic bound, trapped in Banner's giant hamster wheel.

"Scared, then?" Tony walked closer to the cage, sliding through the door without leaving room for Loki to escape.

"Afraid? Of you?" Loki laughed, a short, mad, bitter laugh. "No."

The genius walked behind the god, tense and alert, wary of the fact that the defeated figure was not moving.

"Oh? Then what are you afraid of?" He leant close to the Trickster's ear, whispering the words as he brought the muzzle close to his mouth, allowing him to answer.

Loki turned his head to meet Tony's eyes, his own laced with madness, his voice full of fear.

"Thanos is coming for me. I failed him. He will not let me go." The words were rushed, breathless, almost unwilling.

Tony smirked as he put Loki's muzzle on.

"Nice try, Loki. But your ploys won't work on me."

He ignored the fear-filled eyes that followed him out, not noticing the way his prisoner's eyes widened, the way his eyes slipped shut, the way the figure slumped in defeat and hopelessness. Not noticing the tense muscles, and not noticing the single tear that was hurriedly wiped away.

* * *

**So there you have the prologue. I hope you liked it, please let me know what you think.**

**Chapter one should be coming along soon, so until then~**


	2. Missing

**Hey guys. Look, I'm so sorry this took so long, and I'm so sorry it's so short, but with schoolwork and everything, my stories just went bye bye for the time. But here's chapter one, and I hope you like it.**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

"Sir, Mr Odinson is here to see you. He claims that it is urgent."

Tony groaned as he rolled over in bed. It had been just over a month since Thor had headed off to Asgard, Loki in tow. Over a month since Loki's fearful confession.

_Ploy_, Tony corrects himself, _Attention-getting scheme. Not confession. There was nothing truthful about it. _

The words sounded weak, even to him. The same words, or similar, that he had been repeating since he had heard the words falling from the Trickster's lips.

"Sir?" His A.I repeated. "Mr Odinson is threatening to break down your door."

Tony sighed. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

He rolled out of bed, slipped on a dressing gown, and glanced at the clock as he headed out the door.

Of course Thor would come calling at 2am. Of course he would pop in for a surprise emergency visit only half an hour after Tony had fallen asleep. Of course.

* * *

He made his way to the kitchen, spurred on by Jarvis, and worried for his possessions. Kind of. He was too tired to really care.

"Friend Stark!" Tony winced at the loud words as he shuffled into the kitchen. "I have urgent news!"

Tony made a flapping motion with his hand.

"Shhh. Too early. Coffee."

He heard an impatient noise as he lifted the pre-made cup of coffee to his lips, drinking it rapidly.

"You do not underst-"

"Not right now, Thor." He threw back a second cup.

"Anthony, this cannot wai-"

"I'm sure it can wait until I've finished this cup of co-"

"Loki is missing." The words were blurted out, as if Thor was afraid of his reaction.

Which was to spit his coffee all over the counter. And Thor.

"WHAT?" The word was screamed even as the thunder god impatiently wiped coffee off his face.

Tony's eyes were wild as he stared at his guest, his mind leaping through possibilities, all leading back to the Trickster's… whatever it was.

"My brother has gone missing from Asgard," Thor repeated patiently, as if dealing with an idiot.

"Yes, yes, I know THAT. How? When? Who? Start at the beginning, Thor, and don't you dare leave anything out." The statement was punctuated with a forceful glare.

The thunder god let out a slow breath, obviously agitated, and itching to move. He began to speak even as Tony poured himself another cup of coffee with slightly tremulous hands.

"We arrived back on Asgard, my brother was trialled and sentenced. Father could have been more… lenient." Thor's mouth twisted, showing his displeasure towards whatever his father had done.

All of a sudden, Tony didn't want to know what the sentence had been.

"He bound Loki's magic. I don't know how; he just reached out and… twisted. And Loki fell to the floor screaming." Thor flinched away from the words, his voice cracking towards the end. But he continued anyway, his breathing heavy.

"They had to drag him away. He was… writhing on the floor. He was in so much pain. What our father did… Loki's magic is a part of him, and he took that away." A tremor ran through Thor's body. He took a few steadying breaths, before continuing.

"He was confined to his smaller chambers, and not allowed out. It was a solitary confinement, and special permission needed to be given to visitors and our other sorcerers had spelled the guards against enchantment. They were all trusted, and only those with a special seal from Odin could enter my brothers chambers." The thunder god hesitated again, unsure how to continue.

"Two days ago, a man came to the Allfather for permission to see Loki. I do not know who he was, but the two of them retired to have a private conversation. The emerged after many hours, and he had the Allfather's seal of permission. The… man didn't visit my brother that day. He visited him the next." Again, Thor spoke haltingly, his voice clogged.

"The visit was short, and I was there when he left. I do not know where he returned to…I went to visit my brother's chambers later that day. If I had visited earlier, then maybe…" Thor turned away.

"There was blood on the floors, and some of his hair. Parts of his clothing. It looked like he had dragged himself to the door, or been dragged. And then the trail disappeared. We… we do not know what happened. I asked Father about the man, but he would say nothing. Nothing about who he was, or why he had visited my brother." His shoulders were shaking, and his voice was thick with tears as he placed his hands on his face, afraid of showing weakness. It was a sentiment that Tony knew well, but he could not give Thor his moment right now.

"Thor?" He didn't know whether he wanted to ask this. "Who is Thanos?"

It was the right question, if the way the blonde man froze and turned back to face Tony, his voice hard was any indication.

"What?"

"Thanos. Who is-"

"I know what you said, Man of Iron. Why are you asking this? He is dangerous, I will admit readily."

"It was something Loki said," Tony mumbled, looking back to the coffee maker.

He lurched forward as his lapels were grabbed, and his forehead was pressed that of Thor's. Tony's eyes widened at the wide, urgent, fearful look in them.

"When did he say this? What did he say?"

"Hold on there, buddy. Ease up. Why the rush?"

He gently pried Thor's fingers off his robe. Or perhaps, not so gently.

"Thanos courts death readily. We believe it was him who… granted Loki the Chitauri army. His… _Other_ tends to take care of most business. If Thanos takes interest in _anything_," Thor punctuated this by slamming his hand on the counter, causing Tony to flinch, both in fright and at the damage to his marble countertop. "Then nothing good shall come from it, and everything bad."

A shiver ran down Tony's spine as he replayed Loki's words.

"When… when I went to give Loki his… muzzle, he said something to me. And I… I disregarded it." He looked down, an ashamed flush spreading across his cheeks. Because no matter how much Tony disliked the bastard, because being thrown out of a window _hurts_, if Thor was afraid of this guy… No one deserved what would happen.

He forced himself to meet Thor's expectant eye.

"He said…" Tony gulped. "He said 'Thanos is coming for me. I failed him. He will not let me go.'"

He watched as Thor's eyes widened, as he gripped the counter in a death grip. He didn't flinch as it crumbled to dust in the god's hands, rather focusing on the way that the other began to breath; hard, fast, sharp.

"Then, friend Stark," Thor's voice was tight and controlled, hard and painful, urgent and needy. "I fear that my brother may be in greater danger than anyone originally thought."

Tony cringed as his countertop went flying out his window, made himself another cup of coffee, and waited for Thor to calm down and tell him what he wanted.

He couldn't say he hadn't _expected_ it. But in all honesty, he hadn't expected Thor to actually ask him.

"What about the others? I don't even _like_ the guy. He threw me out a window!"

Thor's response was yet another impatient sigh, the argument already taking too long.

"We do not have the _time_, Anthony, and you are the only one who would be even slightly sympathetic towards him, because you have had over a month to mull over his fear!"

"Steve would be sympathetic! He's always sympathetic! He was the only one whom you could convince that your brother could be brought back to normal!"

"ANTHONY!" Tony flinched. Not only did he hate being called by his full name, Thor's bellow made his windows shudder, and Tony's ears ache. "We do not have the TIME for this! Who knows what is being done to my brother and Thanos' hands!"

"Uh, he's probably being tortured to death?"

Again, Tony felt his forehead pressed against Thor's. He raised his hands slowly in an attempt to calm the manic look in the other's eyes.

"Make no jokes, Stark. What Thanos will do to my brother… Did I not tell you that he courts death? He calls her! He will hold Loki at the brink of her door, waiting for her to emerge. Only then, once she has shown herself, to claim what is hers, will he give him to her."

Thor had dumped Tony on the floor during his tirade in favour of waving his arms around feverishly.

"Wait, let me get this straight. Death is a _person_? More importantly, Death is a _girl_?"

This stopped Thor in his tracks.

"Well… No one actually knows. It is rumoured that she appeared to Thanos in a female form, and he has searched for her since. No one is sure, however, whether he is a power-crazed lunatic, or a goal-driven, powerful being. The point is that he believes that she is a physical entity." He clapped his hands, and punctuated the noise with a sharp glare. "Now. Let us search for my brother."

His protests that he hadn't actually _agreed_ to help Thor were ignored as the larger all but dragged him down to his lab.

"Suit up, Anthony, and hope your power will work where we go. We travel between the branches, to where Thanos inevitably resides. To where none but the bravest go, and to where few survive."

"We're probably going to die?" His voice did _not_ squeak at the end of the sentence.

"He is my brother, Man of Iron. I would die to bring him back, yes, and if you would die for one of your teammates, if you would die for _me_, then I ask you to extend my brother the same favour."

Tony gulped at the glistening sheen covering Thor's eyes. He glanced down. Though he wouldn't admit it readily, he cared about the puppy-like god. Maybe not lose his life, but he would, if it really mattered to Thor, help if rescue his brother. He sighed, and lifted his eyes to meet Thor's.

"If you can guarantee that I get out of this alive, Thor, I'll help you get your brother back."

Thor grinned happily, grabbing him in a rough bear hug that he could have sworn cracked his ribs, and left him gasping for breath.

"Thank you, Tony. Go collect your suits. If this is the case, we have a few friends to visit quickly before we go to find and rescue my brother."

Thor pushed Tony into his lab.

"Hurry now. We do not know how much time we have."

Tony shook his head as he watched Thor bite his lip anxiously and bound back up the stairs, full of restless energy and new hope.

* * *

**The other half of this account is telling me to stop apologising so much. But I am anyway. The next chapter probably won't be up for a while, and I'm sorry for that. I'll try and make the next one longer. Like I'd intended this to be. So yeah, sorry. It'll be up, though. Promise.**


	3. A Visit To Asgard

**I'm sorry this took so long to get up. I mean seriously, it was like pulling teeth. There are those authors that update weekly, and are like 'yeah sorry, the next one will be late.' And then it's a day late, and, like, 10'000 words. And I'm all 'HOW DO YOU DO THIS?!'**

**So yeah, here it is.**

**Also, please see the end of the chapter.**

**I own nothing. Sadly...**

* * *

Tony was ready. Or as ready as one could be when going to rescue someone they didn't exactly like from torture and potential death, with the probability of dying themselves. They were in New Mexico, on top of some interestingly patterned ground. Thor had flown them there, despite all of Tony's protests.

Really, the moment Tony had come up the stairs, Thor had grabbed him by the waist, smashed through Tony's window with Mjolnir, causing to almost lose his grip on his spare suits, and flown them to New Mexico, giving Tony time for one yelled "I can fly myself!" before they landed.

And if Thor had mentioned to anyone that Tony had dropped to all fours wheezing, he would have denied it.

The thunder god paced impatiently as Tony got his breath back, feeling as if he had just stepped into a vacuum for a few seconds. The billionaire nodded as he stood up and took a deep breath, gripping his cases tightly, and Thor turned his face to the sky.

"Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"

Tony didn't have time to raise his eyebrows at the ridiculousness of the situation as he was enveloped in a maelstrom of multi coloured lights. It was like he was flying in the wake of a Nyan cat, or a unicorn had just vomited a rainbow on them. It was a very uncomfortable feeling, in all.

A painful sucking sensation enveloped his chest for a second as he was buffeted by the energy around him, before he was deposited, upright, on a metal floor. He decided that all Asgardian forms of transport were off-limits. Did they not need to breathe, or something? He could have sworn that Thor was trying to kill him before they even got there.

Wide-eyed, he stared around himself, trying to absorb everything at once. The bronze-gold metal around him reflected ethereal lights, a huge sword was being drawn out of a pedestal in the centre of the room, and behind the huge, huge, steroids-type muscular man holding it, there was a long… rainbow?

Tony's mind froze, trying to comprehend it all, sensory overload distracting him to the point that he didn't notice the hulking figure walking to greet them.

"Ah, Heimdall. You know why we are here. I hope you will let us pass."

The man, Heimdall, nodded briefly, before turning strange, uncomfortably gold eyes on Tony.

"Hi!" Said Tony nervously. "I'm-"

"Anthony Stark. I know."

Tony turned to Thor, murmuring up at him, "Well that's just creepy."

He could have sworn the gatekeeper smirked, before he turned back to his post.

"Try not to destroy anything."

Thor grinned beside him.

"Certainly, Heimdall. Come, Tony."

He grabbed the billionaire's arm, and gently dragged him to the bridge.

"Is that… safe?"

Tony stared at the glistening lights apprehensively. They looked solid, but at the same time, really, really not.

"Of course!"

And Thor pulled him onto the bridge.

After a moment of amazement that he was still standing, and hadn't fallen to the water below, Tony lifted his eyes. They widened in wonder and horror as he examined the length of the bridge. He briefly took in the golden splendour of Asgard.

"Do you guys have a thing for gold?" He asked of Thor casually.

The response was an amused look.

"Come, Anthony, we have not a lot of time."

"Well it's going to take us forever and a day just to cross this bridge!"

Thor rolled his eyes, and grabbed Tony by the waist again, who crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance, sick of feeling like a damsel in distress. But Thor knew where he was going, so Tony didn't argue. Instead he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, where no one could see them, and prepared himself for the feeling of being sucked through a vacuum cleaner.

It was just as unpleasant the second time around.

* * *

When Tony opened his eyes, an iron door greeted him.

"Thor. Are we in… a _dungeon_?"

Thor sighed.

"No, my friend. Amora simple enjoys theatrics. We are in the upper levels of the castle."

Tony noticed that he was standing on a balcony, the open air behind him. Well _that_ was weird.

Thor walked forwards and gently knocked, okay, forcefully banged, on the door.

"Amora! I have come to call on the favour that you owe me!"

Tony heard the loud, affected sigh through the iron-wrought prison-style door, and mentally face-palmed. He just _loved _dealing with drama queens.

He heard an ominous creak, as the door was pulled open, and began mentally hitting his head against said door. She was a show pony too.

Thor walked through the gap the moment it was convenient, not having the patience to wait for the slow-moving sheet of metal to fully open. Tony followed him meekly, his eyes darting around behind his mask. The room was surprisingly well lit, and largely empty. There was a low table, and a few lounging couches surrounding it. He could honestly say he wasn't surprised to see a curvaceous figure lazing on one of them, being fanned and fed by topless, muscular, drool-worthy men.

He shook his head to clear it. It was another of those moments when he wondered if bisexuality was a blessing or a curse. Dragging his eyes to the figure, he watched her wave away the men, and gesture to the table. The men disappeared into another room, and bowls of fruit appeared on the table. She stood up.

Did the mages of Asgard have an obsession with green or something?

Amora was gorgeous, and even the most bent of men would be unable to deny it. Her curves were highlighted by a vivid green dress that accentuated her eyes in a tragically gaudy way, that would have had Tony cringing if he weren't completely distracted by her… everything. Her hair was dark, framing her face and running over her shoulders and looked to constantly be in motion. From what he'd seen of her already, it probably was.

And then Tony began to analyse.

Her lips were a deep red, which drew attention to them. But her eyes were brightened to contrast them. Honestly, she looked like a Christmas tree.

The more Tony concentrated, the less amazing Amora seemed. Yes, she was beautiful, but it was no longer the 'I will fall at your feet and serve you forever' kind of beauty. The draw of her was gone.

He smirked behind his mask, a sense of satisfaction spreading over him. He'd just beaten her magic.

Poking Thor in the ribs to get his attention, he purposefully turned away from Amora.

"Thanks for warning me about the magicsy stuff, buddy," he hissed up at the god, noting the dazed eyes, and awed expression the blonde idiot was sporting.

Tony stepped out in front of Thor, and covered the blue eyes with his gauntleted hand.

"Snap out of it, Thor. We're here for a reason," he dropped his hand, watching as Thor's vision came back into focus, "Which you still haven't explained, by the way."

"Yes, Thor." Tony whipped around at the melodious voice. "Why have you decided to come calling?"

Amora stalked forward, and in a corner of his mind, Tony couldn't help noting the eerie similarities between her and a jungle cat stalking her prey.

Thor shook his head, much the same way as Tony had earlier.

"This is about my brother."

Amora flinched back, as if slapped, before straightening and pretending she hadn't.

"But Thor," her voice lilted as she laughed at the end of her sentence, poorly hidden anxiety lacing her voice. "Surely you don't plan on going after that traitor. He clearly escaped-"

"DO NOT test my patience, Amora," Thor interrupted, his voice booming around the enclosed space.

Amora's expression was one of carefully schooled simpering adoration, yet she seemed unwilling to show any of the emotion she had earlier.

"If he does not wish to be found, he won't be, Thor," She persisted. "You know your… brother. His magic-"

"Was taken from him. Do you not recall?" Thor sneered, and Tony's hidden eyes widened. It was not an expression he was used to seeing on the god's face. "But of course you do. You celebrated his pain, and the loss of his magic," Thor stalked forward, and Amora cringed back slightly, "Because he was no longer your competition. Because you were now the best mage in Asgard." The god leaned forward, into Amora's personal space, and snarled. "The only reason you do not want him back is because you will no longer be considered the strongest mage around."

The witch stepped back as Thor straightened, a smirk upon her face.

"Why Thor," she simpered, "I did not know you thought so highly of me."

Tony smirked at the accidental compliment to Loki, because he had to admit, that guy was good at what he did.

"Do not presume to degrade my brother by placing yourself anywhere near his level. Now, you will do what I request of you, your debt to me will be paid, and we shall go our separate ways."

Amora clenched her jaw at Thor's words, before cocking her hip, placing her hand on it, and throwing her other in the air in defeat.

"Fine! What did you want of me?"

Thor smirked.

"I shall come back for it this evening. For now, be prepared for it. I simply wished to ensure that you would. Do not leave these chambers, Amora." He glared at her. "I will know if you do."

With those words, Thor grabbed Tony's arm, and swept him out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them.

* * *

Tony was silent for a time as Thor as good has dragged him down the stairs. Seriously, who has stairs on the _outside_ of a tower? That's just so illogical!

The two of them were about a third of the way down the tower, Tony flying beside Thor, when he finally decided to speak.

"So, um… what just happened?"

"You met Amora. I am confused, though. You seemed to break her compulsion. See through her glamour, as it were. How?"

"It… I… Loki." Well _that_ was coherent. "When he was trying to, you know, take over the world, I scanned his magical signature, and built in a kind of block of it into the suit. Obviously, Amora's signature is different, so it wasn't quite as effective as it would have been on Loki. Add to that the fact that I was examining every inch of her… I noticed that it just… didn't go together."

Thor nodded.

"I should have been prepared for it; expected it. She almost permanently keeps the compulsion up." He seemed irritated at himself.

Tony smirked, but made no comment. Curiosity reigned, in this instance. He was staring around at his surroundings, swivelling his head to take it all in. They were quite high up, but descending, in a far corner of the… palace? Castle? Golden, wondrous monstrosity? Though he'd briefly studied it before being flown off by Thor, he couldn't bring himself to find the words to describe the place.

"Where are we going?"

Other than in circles around a tower. Tony was getting very bored of seeing the same things over and over again.

"To the throne room." Thor's voice was tense, and Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Why are we… you walking?" Tony thought he knew the answer. Though the blonde god was desperate to find his brother, he was delaying his meeting with his father.

Thor just shrugged, and Tony cringed. There must have been some altercation between the two when Thor left. And neither had walked away happy.

Well this was going to be interesting.

* * *

Thor had begun dragging his feet as they neared the throne room. While it meant that he did not have to see Odin quite as soon, it gave the Asgardians plenty of time to stare and point at Tony in his flashy red and gold suit. Though he was used to, and loved being, the centre of attention, this was unnerving. The people that stared were largely silent, and many were armed. Sure, they were swords and axes and knives, rather than guns, but that didn't change the fact that they were weapons.

And then they were in front of huge golden doors, and Thor was tensed, breathing deeply to calm himself. And in a rare show of camaraderie, Tony clapped his hand on Thor's shoulder. Cringing behind his mask, he muttered, "Come. It's for your brother."

And Thor nodded, placed his hands on the doors, and threw them open.

* * *

The figure sitting on the throne sat up sharply as the guards, in a moment of shocked surprise, levelled their weapons to the door. The woman beside the throne, whom Tony had to assume was Frigga tensed, and straightened from where she had been whispering in her husband's ear.

And then the moment of tense suspicion and suspense was over. The guards lowered their weapons, faces as blank as they had been when they had raised them, Frigga relaxed, and Odin sank back into the throne.

Thor stalked forwards.

"I request that we may speak to you in private, father, mother."

Tony couldn't help notice and smirk at the way Odin's shoulders tensed at Thor's words, even as he stood.

"Of course. Come."

And Odin swept from the room, with Frigga by his side, the two looking the regal couple that they were. With a hesitant glance to Thor by his side, Tony and the god followed behind.

* * *

Tony hated being silent, the way he had with Amora, and the way he now had to with Thor's parents. It made him feel so subservient. He also hated not knowing what was going on. But that wasn't stopping it from happening either.

He scowled at the king and queen as they offered beverages that were declined, and formalities skipped over, as the couple sat down and Thor ignored the seat they offered. Instead he stood by the fireplace, as Thor remained a silent statue, waiting, with patience he rarely showed, for his father to make the first move.

"So, Thor," And here it was. "What brings you back to Asgard so soon?"

Tony raised his eyebrow. Well if that wasn't the most polite 'What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know you're not wanted?' that he had ever heard, he didn't know what was. He wondered if Thor would dance around the point. He hoped not, because _man_ was he getting impatient.

Thor looked his father in the eyes.

"I am not here to apologise, if that is what you are wondering." Odin's gaze darkened at the words, but he remained silent. Tony watched as Thor took a deep breath, before stating smoothly and calmly, "I wish for a device or some means of restoring Loki's magic when we find him."

Tony didn't know what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't that. Even Odin's as yet bland mask showed cracks as his eyes subtly widened, and an inhalation of breath that could conceivably have been a gasp passed the king's lips, before they thinned out into an expression of irritation.

And then the mask was back in place as Frigga placed a hand on his shoulder, and took charge.

When she spoke, her voice held a soft authority that had Tony listening in earnest to what she had to say.

"You are aware of his crimes, Thor. As much as I do not wish for my son to be hurt more than he is, I do not wish for him to harm anyone else."

Thor nodded.

"Yes, mother. I understand this. If I had this, I would wait until he had proven himself to return his magic. I do not wish for him to hurt others either."

Odin stood abruptly, a powerful presence in a situation where he knew that he'd been beaten. His voice was tight and controlled when he spoke to Thor.

"Very well. When Loki is calm once more, and his soul is soothed of such violent and malevolent thoughts," Odin made a twisting motion with his staff, and a soft green glow appeared in front of Thor, "And this is judged by more than just you," The glow began to solidify, forming a green leather bracelet, "Place this upon him, and his magic shall return."

And Odin swept from the room like a child having a temper tantrum. Thor opened his mouth to call after him, but Tony lunged forwards, placing his hand over the god's lips.

"Thor, let's go. I don't really want to stay here for longer than necessary. I've had enough of staying silent. Everyone's missing out on my charm and wit, and I don't want to deprive them of it any longer."

Thor pulled Tony's hand away from his mouth, and nodded. He turned to his mother, and kissed her hand.

"It was good to see you again, mother. Until next time."

And then the were out, moving faster than on their way there, and one their way back up to Amora's tower.

* * *

Thor threw open the door this time, rather than waiting. His patience was wearing thin, Tony saw, and all he wanted to do was be on his way.

Tony didn't think he could be looking forward to it any less. Thor was probably the only one he could think of who would willingly head towards almost imminent death. Other than Thanos, apparently. Or Loki, when he was suicidal.

"Amora!" Tony so didn't jump at Thor's bellow.

The witch glided around the door.

"Yes, Thor?" She was a lot more composed than she had been when they had left earlier. "Have you _now_ come to call on my," She sneered at the word, "debt?"

This woman was like a cheese grater to Tony's nerves. Seriously. It was like she had been _created_ to irritate him.

Thor gritted his teeth.

"Yes, Amora. We go after Loki, as you know."

The witch remained still, and Tony knew what was coming.

"We need you to transport us to where we believe he has been taken."

Amora arched her eyebrow.

"Which would be _where_?"

Honestly, could she act any more superior?

Tony paused.

Well that was hypocritical.

"Between the branches."

Amora's eyes widened, blood flowing out of her face as she clutched at the doorframe for support.

"I don't believe that's possible, Thor." Her voice was breathless and tight with fear.

"Of course it is, Amora," Thor snapped. "Loki has taken me before, and if you can manage magic of his level, then you can transport us there, too. He has successfully taken you, and you him after you pestered him to learn. I know this. So take us."

Once more, she hesitated, and Thor's face grew darker.

"Take us, Amora, and you will be free of your debt to me."

She sighed in resignation, fear still evident in the lines of her body.

"Very well. I will take you there, but no more. I will not stay for you, nor will I bring you back. I know who you go for, as there is only one who dwells between the branches."

Thor nodded.

"I expected no less. Do you require anything to prepare?"

Amora shook her head, and took a shaky breath, before raising her arms.

"If you are ready…"

Thor nodded, before glancing over at Tony.

"Hey. Why wouldn't I be ready to face imminent death? Let's do this!"

Thor chuckled.

"We are ready Amora."

She nodded, and began whispering a chant, a pale green glow enveloping the three of them. Tony couldn't help but notice the difference in colour between her and Loki's magic.

A squeezing sensation overtook his body, and he recalled all of his other Asgardian transportations. He swore softly as the light grew brighter, and shut his eyes as the sensation of being sucked through a vacuum grew.

From behind closed eyes, he saw a flash, and then there was darkness.

"This is where I leave you."

Amora's words were accompanied by another flash of light.

He felt Thor's presence beside him, and his deep voice came rumbling through Tony's bones.

"We have arrived, Anthony."

And Tony opened his eyes.

* * *

**Okay, so... we've set up a poll. Our other story, Another!, is a series of one-shots. Humorous ones. The poll is just what idea we should use for the next chapter.**

**So yeah, check it out. The poll, I mean. And the story, if you haven't.**

**Tony can pole dance. Just sayin'. **

**So see you all at the next chapter~**


	4. In Other News or What Happens Elsewhere

**Here's Chapter Three. It's not really a filler! Promise! It's just... filling you in on what's happening everywhere else.**

**...**

**Okay, so by definition it's a filler. But the point is that we hope you enjoy it.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who's read this story; favourited, followed and reviewed. It means so much to us :)**

**Again, I own nothing. **

* * *

Loki's brain wasn't working. The pain was overriding the very fiber of his being. Death was calling to him, but he could not reach it.

Once, just once, he had felt its touch; the peace and painlessness that it brought. And then suddenly, it had let go. The pain had been back, fire spinning through his body, electricity sparking up his spine as he arched his back, feeling as he had when Thor had sent lightning through his body. He had been gasping as his heart had begun to beat anew.

Figures floated past him in hallucinatory dreams, and solidified every now and then, to the point where wasn't sure of what was real or not.

He could never be sure if he really was seeing Thanos. The death-bringer, who was not letting death reach him, who was keeping him just on the edge.

"_You will have your war, Asgardian. If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain."_

The words haunted him. They had frightened him at the time they had been spoken, but seeing them, _feeling_ them in action, awakened the fear to the point that it was taking over him. He flinched at every movement, hallucinatory or real.

At first, he had thought that they would not break him. Oh, how arrogant he had been. Now, green eyes were listless, his body broken, covered with wounds and scars, old and new, healing at a mortal rate as the block between himself and his magic refused to weaken.

He had made no sound, at first. But the pain had grown with each passing session. There had been only a few times when it had not been Thanos administering the pain, but he was always there. When it was not Thanos, it was the Other, attacking him with a violence that held none of Thanos' meticulous hate and desire.

The Avengers floated by in his mind, each one staring at him with anger and hate. But it was the one in the suit that stood out, red and gold. The one who had resisted the Tesseract's power, who had come into his cell to place upon him that silver muzzle, who had looked at him with intelligence and calculation. His name floated just out of reach.

He was the one to whom he had spoken of Thanos.

Perhaps… perhaps he would search for him, find him. Maybe even rescue him.

But the loathing in his eyes, the flash of suspicion when he had spoken… He bowed his head, quashing the spark of hope that had briefly arisen at the idea of being rescued, as he had each time the thought spun through his mind.

He was too far-gone now.

He did not raise his head as footsteps approached, instead flinching away from the sound. A hand gripped his chin, and he was forced to meet purple eyes.

"Hello Loki. Are you ready?"

Thanos' malicious grin spun through the words, and Loki shut his eyes in acceptance.

He was broken, now. More so than before.

He felt the Chitauri gather to watch their master's next session with his toy. Because that was all he was. A tool, and implement for another's pleasure. A chess piece in everyone else's game.

* * *

Tony wasn't answering his phone, so Steve had gone to the tower to check it out for himself. Jarvis had let him in, greeting him, but otherwise remain silent.

He had walked through, calling Tony's name, but getting no response. The entire place was silent, and Tony's workshop was dark and empty. He had turned away at the lack of lights, not even bothering to check for anyone's presence.

And then, finally, Steve had reached the kitchen; the war zone. Tony's tables and chairs had been flipped over, the marble bench top cracked and crumbled, the window smashed, and a coffee mug shattered on the floor, the liquid leaving a stain on the floor.

"Jarvis?" He cleared his throat as his voice shook. "What happened here?"

He was angry. If something had happened to Tony, why hadn't Jarvis said anything?

"Master Odinson lost his temper, I believe."

Steve froze.

"Thor was here?"

"Yes, he was. I could show the video footage, if you would like."

Steve nodded. He had grown used to Jarvis, but listening to a disembodied voice explaining what had occurred would be odd. A video would definitely be preferable.

A screen detached itself from the wall and came to rest in front of Steve as he sat on one of the chairs that wasn't too broken. He gritted his teeth in worry. Tony Stark was irritated, and had a superiority complex to rival Loki's, according to Thor at least.

The video began to play, and Steve sat riveted in his seat. It had been yesterday morning that Thor had come knocking on Tony's door, yelling through the tower.

He watched as Tony stumbled down the stairs, and prepared coffee.

He watched their conversation, Thor losing his temper, his eyes continually widening as he listened to their conversation. He understood the implications; he understood what was happening, and what had happened.

Even before Thor had grabbed Tony and dragged him out the window, Steve knew where and why they were going.

He just wished that they had thought to call the others.

The screen went dark, and reattached itself to the wall as Steve took deep, steadying breaths.

Loki had tried to take over the world, yes, but if what Thor was saying was true, then Steve would willingly have gone to help.

Thor had never told them how to get to Asgard, and even if Steve managed to make it there, the other two would probably be long gone.

All that remained to do was to prepare for when they got home. And Steve had no doubt that they would.

* * *

Clint and Natasha were just returning from a mission, and leaving SHIELD headquarters, when they got the call. Their phones rang at the same time, and they heard ringing behind them. Spinning, they saw Bruce walking towards them, phone in hand, and staring at them confusedly.

Glancing down at the caller I.D, the label on each phone said "Steve Rogers".

Clint was the first to pick up.

"I see you've become more technologically savvy, Cap."

The other two picked up as well, and could hear the eye-roll in Steve's voice.

"You've been spending too much time with Tony, Clint. I had some help from Jarvis. Now, speaking of Tony, I need the three of you at his tower. Preferably now."

"Steve, what's going on?"

Bruce: ever the logical one. Natasha disconnected from the line, got in the car, and gestured for the other two to follow her.

"I'll explain when you get here. You're together at the moment, right?"

Natasha started the car, a soft frown creasing her brow.

"Where's Tony, Steve?"

Steve heard her call through both Clint and Bruce's phones.

"Like I said, I'll explain when you get here."

The line went dead, and the trio glanced at each other. Silence settled over them as Natasha peeled out, determination and curiosity lining each of their faces.

* * *

Odin was pacing while Frigga looked on, her eyes narrowed at his scowl.

"Do you think it was wise to allow them to believe that you think he escaped?"

Odin stopped in his tracks at her words, turning to look at her, a hard look in his eyes.

"The mortal whom Thor brought with him was very observant. I am sure that he noticed."

Frigga hummed in agreement as she nodded.

"It did seem that way, especially when you seemed to give in so soon on the concept of returning Loki's magic."

Odin sighed.

"I wish for my sons back. Thor would not trust me any other way."

A wave of sadness passed over Frigga's face as she took her husband into her arms.

"Loki will not trust you easily. Announce to Asgard that Loki was taken from his cells. It is bad enough if he that his family hates him, but for the rest of Asgard too as well?" She shook her head sadly. "He is burdened enough."

Odin nodded and sighed.

"The Chitauri found him here. I only hope that Thor and his friends can keep him safe."

Frigga winced slightly at the mention of the brutes that had been her son's army, but nodded.

"Go, then; make the announcement."

Odin nodded, and turned to leave, but Frigga called after him.

"Trust your son, and trust his friends. They are more powerful than they may seem."

The king nodded back at his wife, before he turned and left to address his kingdom, shutting the door behind him.

Still standing, Frigga turned, her face darkening.

"The Chitauri will regret what they have done to my sons."

Her voice was a soft whisper; a prophecy, a promise.

* * *

Jarvis directed the trio to the disaster zone that was the kitchen. A soft gasp was Bruce's reaction, while the area was met with blank faces from the assassins.

Steve greeted them from the center, a screen behind him with a frozen image of Thor sitting at the tabletop with Tony drinking coffee illuminating his back.

Natasha raised her eyebrow.

"Explain."

Steve gestured at the screen and moved to the side as the video began to play.

He watched their faces. He'd seen the video three times now. He watched their blank masks, knowing them well enough now to be able to discern the almost-facial movements they made.

Bruce was concerned; at first for Tony and Thor, but then for Loki, too. He was angry at the god, tensing slightly each time his name was mentioned, seemingly fighting to keep his calm.

Natasha was quite difficult to read, as always. She was angry, but not entirely for her sake. She sneaked a glance at Clint at one point, concerned for him. She was hesitant about everything. She worried slightly for Tony and Thor; not that Loki would get to them, but that they would hurt themselves in getting to him. And… was that slight worry for Loki?

Clint was furious, his eyes hardened with an old anger, but narrowing in slight empathy at the mention of the inhumane torture. They all felt that way about it; no one deserved torture. Clint had been the one wronged the most by Loki, and if he could get past this, not to like the guy, but to not hurt him, at least, then Steve as sure the others would.

The video ended, the screen blackened, and as one they turned to look at Steve, faces blank, eyes hard and determined.

They knew, or suspected, what he wanted. They just had to make sure.

"I want to clean this up, first. And then, when they get back," Steve's eyes hardened; they _would_ get back, "I want to help them take care of Loki. You can help me or not, but," And he had been hesitant on this, but felt it was best, "whether you do or not, no one takes this to Fury. Not yet."

There was silence for a moment, Bruce tapping his hands against each other distractedly, the assassins standing silently and still. It was Natasha who broke the silence.

"Why are we not taking this to Fury?"

Steve nodded at her; it was what he would have asked, and he was sure she knew his answer.

"You know how he feels about Loki. The moment he gets a whiff of the guy, he'll be dragging him down to the depths of SHIELD's headquarters to do to the same thing to him as whatever this Thanos guy is doing. Loki has no magic, no defenses, and nothing to keep him safe from anyone, including us."

Natasha nodded, and glanced covertly at Clint. His eyes were hard, but not the same way they had been earlier, and his jaw was clenched. This wasn't anger; it was determination.

"I'm gonna believe Thor on this one, because it sounds like even he's scared of this Thanos guy. Thor isn't scared of anything. I don't like Loki; in fact, I hate the bastard. But I'm willing to look past that for now. I'll help clean up, take care of him if I have to, until maybe he can give me an explanation for it all. I'm not going to like the guy, but no one deserves torture. Not even Loki."

The room was silent as Steve gave him a small, tight, grateful smile.

"He's going to need a doctor," Bruce offered tentatively. "I'll get my first aid kit, shall I?"

Steve grinned, and stood up.

"We need to get this cleaned up, get wherever ready for when they get back. We don't know when that will be, or what state they'll be in. So we'll just have to hope for the best."

The others nodded, completely unaware that their team members were slowly opening their eyes in a place that could barely be considered a place, so far safe, and about to rescue the one person they had never expected they would have to.

* * *

**And there it was, folks. Thanks for sticking with us so far. Hope you enjoyed it :D**

**Also, please don't check out our poll for Another! Your input really makes a difference. I'm working on the potential updates at the moment (and it's test week at school; procrastination for the win) and they should be up soon.**

**Love you all, guys!**


	5. Between the Branches

**Hey guys. So sorry this took so long. I really, really am. I meant to have it up during our school holidays, and then I went to extra classes and it just didn't happen. We also have exams coming up, so this will probably be the last update for this for about a month. The story's just been sitting there and yelling 'You should be updating me!'**

**So I really am sorry that the next one will take a while, and even sorrier that this one did.**

**Also, some warnings for this chapter. There are some kind of graphic description-ish things of Loki's injuries further in. I haven't marked them, because I find when I read stories that have author notes half way through, it detracts from the whole thing. You'll probably be able to tell where the descriptions are, so for those who don't want to read them, please skip.**

**The usual disclaimer of us not owning anything.**

* * *

The sight that assaulted Tony's eyes was so confusing that he decided that he was sick of going places with Thor because it just _killed his brain_.

He was greeted by empty space that was full of nothing and everything. It was pitch black, and colorless, and yet full of every colour, every shade of anything, that he had ever come across, and more than he had ever even imagined.

He glanced over at Thor, the edges of whom seemed to be blurring with rainbows, and blinked at him a few times.

"This is what I imagine LSD would be like," He commented, watching as Thor's brow creased as his vision adjusted to the new visual assault.

"What is LSD?" Thor was swaying a little, as if mimicking the swirls of colours rising from his body. It was a little worrying. Tony went to take a step aside, worried that Thor would fall on him, before having to rapidly right himself as his foot went off the edge of the surface they were on.

"A mortal drug. Causes hallucinations," Was Tony's murmured response, as he peered down, towards his feet. His eyes widened as he truly began to take account of his surroundings.

The two of them were standing on a small piece of floating rock that looked as if it were about to crumble under their weight. Surrounding them, floating in the infinite space, was what looked like a planet that had been blown apart. Pieces of rock and earthy debris hung suspended in somehow breathable air. There was no plant material, no splash of natural, non-hallucinated colour floating amongst what could once have been a planet full of life.

The black, chaotic swirls of colour surrounded them, and stretched on into infinity, temporarily illuminating platforms of solid material, before spiraling on, into the distance that never seemed to reach an end. There was gravity here, of a sort. Each piece of debris had its own weight, but the gravitational force surrounding them wasn't enough to pull them together; to re-form the hulking mass of rock and earth.

Thor and Tony were but splashes of solidity, droplets of reality amongst and endless madness, tiny atoms of hope among infinite, chaotic unrest, turmoil and loneliness.

Tony breathed deeply, overwhelmed by the sense of nothingness surrounding him, and the knowledge that anything could happen here, and nothing would change.

"Let us leave this place," Thor murmured, the softest Tony had ever heard him speak, his voice both falling flat and echoing in the nonsensical void that surrounded them.

Tony nodded, and took off, as Thor swung Mjolnir, and they flew off, following the myriad of colours into the distance, hoping that they would lead the pair to the only other life that would be in the emptiness, and dreading it at the same time.

Tony wasn't entirely sure how far they flew, or how long for. They two of them were silent, moving quickly through the air in search of Thanos and his ship, and Loki.

The space seemed to go on forever in every direction, but neither dared stray from their path. They followed the lights as they swirled ever onwards, as if a vortex was drawing them in. Perhaps they were leading the duo into a trap, but it was the only hint of a certain direction that they should travel. With no other leads, they could be searching through the space until the end of time.

Silence was boring, but the idea of noise was intimidating, as if speech would rouse the sleeping darkness, bringing it crashing down upon them in vengeance.

And so with nothing to pass the time, they lost track of it. Tony's technology was useless if he wasn't sharing the information processes, and JARVIS was as silent as the other two.

And so when noise other than the whirring of Mjolnir and machinery, they glanced at each other, and by silent agreement sped up.

If they had been asked what noise they heard, they would have been unable to answer. A faint roar, a low scream, a clash of weapons, perhaps? All they knew was that it was sound, and that meant something had to be there. So they sped towards it, hoping that, finally, they would find Loki, and be done with the oppressive dark.

There really wasn't much cover between the branches, but they made do with planet remnants, hiding behind the immobile chunk of rock, as they finally came to the end of their search, both for Loki and the ever-dreaded Thanos.

But first there was the ship.

It was a giant, hulking piece of metal that lacked finesse, and more than made up for it with bulk and smooth shininess. But if Tony had tried to say that to Thor, he would have been asked if he was drunk.

It looked kind of like a U.F.O. supposedly looked. It was slightly flat, but more open. It had a top deck, like a sailing ship would, and the metal for the hull was smooth and rounded. The top deck was indented, and it was empty but for something in the middle, and Tony knew what it was even before JARVIS had hit zoom, though he really, really wished he didn't.

Loki was barely recognizable. He was tied to a post that was almost a cross. His arms were spread out, but his feet touched the ground, knees buckled, his weight barely straining the bonds that held his wrists. And by bonds, Tony meant knives.

He almost threw up.

Loki was covered in cuts and bruises; even the decency of clothing having been stripped from him. And Tony largely zoned out JARVIS's diagnostics.

His stomach was bulging outwards slightly from internal bleeding, that must have been stopped for him to be alive, ribs obvious where they were and weren't broken. His arms had been broken and re-healed, his fingers so covered in blood that JARVIS almost missed the shattered fingers. The silver-tongued god was hanging completely limp, head lolling forwards, blood-matted hair covering his face.

There was a noise from the side, as a door opened, and a cloaked figure walked out. Loki shrank back, flinching from the sound, and trembling as each footstep resonated across the deck. The figure extended a hand, gripped Loki by the chin, and tilted his head up, shifting it almost gently so as to see it at each angle.

Even if Tony had been able to hear the words he was obviously speaking, thought process slowed in horror at the image, and noise became a faint buzz in the background of his mind.

The handsome (and if Tony was being honest, admittedly gorgeous) face was bruised and cut, gaunt and haggard, broken cheekbones pressing against pale and dirty skin. His lips were shredded, as if someone had taken a knife and painstakingly sliced at them, broken tatters fluttering with each breath he took.

Tony looked away at first sight of them. Had he continued inspecting Loki's face, the coffee would have made a disastrous reappearance.

He turned to Thor to see the god regarding him curiously, and was never gladder that he didn't have super eyesight. Tony motioned that he was okay with a short hand gesture, before glancing back at the deck of the ship in time to see the cloaked figure raise a threatening hand to Loki.

For Tony, it was a moment of indecision. He wouldn't wish upon anyone what was happening to the Trickster, and he would willingly shoot down the guy in the cloak to prevent him from causing Loki more pain, but at the same time wasn't sure he wanted to give away their position and be swarmed by Chitauri warriors.

And then Loki shrank back, flinching from the motion, and Tony raised his hand, ready to fire the moment the figure began to bring his arm down. Thor tensed at the motion, opening his mouth to ask what was happening.

And then they heard the bone-chilling laughter and the figure lowered its arm. The two cowered behind the rock in fear they had been spotted, but instead they heard it speaking, as if talking to its army.

"Look at how he cowers before me!" The Chitauri gathered to watch. "Look at how the mighty Loki has been brought down by us. Thinking he could take our glory, promising success. Did we not bet everything on him?!" The Chitauri roared in anger and agreement. "And did we not promise him retribution if he failed?!" Again, they roared. "And this has not yet come." The army fell silent in apprehension. "This is only the beginning! He will learn!"

And then, because obviously this guy had a flair for the dramatics, he swept back through the door he had come through as the Chitauri dispersed in an agitated mass, entering the ship through doors that had been hidden on the hull.

It was entirely unexpected; frightening and off-putting.

"Is it dinner time or something? Because that was just… bam," Tony whispered.

"All I see is ant-people. Those were the Chitauri, correct?" Thor's response was even softer than Tony's as he nodded.

"Is that my brother in the center?"

"Yeah. He's in bad shape, Thor. If we're getting him out of here, we need to be gentle with him. And you're not really in his good books, so maybe I should take him."

Thor hesitated, emotions warring in his eyes; regret, sorrow and rage battling for dominance, before he closed them and nodded his weary acquiescence.

"He is alone now, and I think that no one expected him to be found," Tony began. "Can you sense magic?"

"I can always sense my brother's magic, but as it has been taken, I currently cannot. Nor can I sense any other."

"There's no security around him, then. They didn't think anyone would come to find him. Thanos counted on Loki's fear of him. If we were going to take him, now would be our best bet. Before anyone comes out, and before he gets hurt any more. We do a full out sprint to him, I take him down and you watch my back. Feel free to take out anyone who comes, but keep a low profile."

Thor grinned savagely at the thought of taking out anyone who had dared to harm Loki, and nodded.

"I will ensure that no harm comes to you."

Tony nodded, and went to take off, but Thor stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Anthony."

Tony smiled behind his mask.

"Just as long as you don't drag me out here again. This place gives me the creeps."

Thor laughed softly.

"The moment you have my brother, we will need to fly a while away. I will call Amora, and she will take us to your mansion." Thor gripped Tony's forearm. "May all go well."

And as they took off, the adrenalin kicked in, and the fear of getting caught flooded through their veins.

But, for both of them, the thought of getting Loki out safely meant more.

So the sprint began.

They crossed the large distance between their cover and the ship in a few seconds, nervous at being caught in the gap between shelter and their destination. All remained silent, and they both hovered for a few seconds before landing lightly and softly on the deck.

The soft clang of their feet on the metal seemed to echo in the silence, and they both noticed as Loki flinched back, cowering from the sound. Thor stiffened in anger at his mistreatment, but Tony walked slowly forwards, Loki seeming to grow smaller as he advanced.

"It's okay, Loki," He whispered softly. "We're going to get you out of here. I just need you to stay quiet."

It was shocking to see Loki slump in defeat.

"Hey. Talk to me. Or not, you know, if it hurts too much. Thor's right behind me."

And the god's head jerked up in shock, the mention of the Thunder God's name resonating through his body, provoking a response.

"Thor?" The word was garbled, blood falling from his dry and tattered lips, voice hoarse and broken.

"I'm here, brother," Came Thor's pained reply, as Tony reached for the knives that were holding up. Though it sent a pang through his body to see Loki flinch from the motion, he continued anyway.

"We're not here to hurt you, Loki," He reiterated. "And I know we haven't gotten on in the past, but I'm going to need you to trust me. To trust us."

The Trickster's response was to let his eyes fall shut in resignation, and Tony missed most of the words that fell from his lips, one whisper carrying loud enough for him to hear.

"-_hallucination_-"

And Tony flinched, and yanked out the knives.

The whimpers that were coming from Loki's mouth were painful and pained. Thor was still scanning for danger, but everything was eerily silent. Tony had Loki in his arms as he sliced apart the last of the tightly knotted ropes, pulling out the last of the knives.

Swinging the god that was simply skin and bones into his arms, bridal style, Tony marveled at his weight, or lack thereof. He doubted very much that Loki had had anything to eat or drink since coming here, and probably very little in the Asgardian prisons.

He carried Loki gently, but he knew that there was no way that the god could be arranged in his arms so that he wasn't hurting. To call Loki wounded would be one of the biggest understatements of all time.

Silently and swiftly, Thor and Tony took off, ever vigilant and wary, but still nothing followed them. As they flew faster and further away, passing the cover they had used earlier, against the current of lights to where they began, none noticed the shadow detach itself from the ship.

None noticed the cloaked figure grin maliciously as it spoke to thin air.

"He will learn that no matter where he runs to, we will always find him."

And no one saw it melt back into the shadows, a twisted smile upon its face, a six fingered hand clenched in a sense of silent victory.

* * *

**So I'd just like to take a moment to thank EVERYONE who's following, favourited and reviewed this story. It really means a lot to know that people do actually like the story.**

**I'd also like to thank my other half, though you probably won't read the note. Your constant reading over my shoulder on my computer to see what I'm writing on this story, or whether I'm writing it at all, is, as always, irritating. But motivating, too. Thank you for your advice and approval. And for the plot bunny that started it all in the first place.**

**Until November, when exams are over, and our summer holidays begin. **

**As always, thanks for reading,**

**W.S**


	6. Returning

**Hey guys! I had my last exam yesterday, so now the summer holidays have officially begun! It's been stormy, so it hasn't been hot. Which is good. Rain~**

**Anyway; the point is that I'm back, and so the stories shall be updated once more!**

**Again, I own nothing.**

* * *

They were back where they started. Well they _assumed_ they were back where they started. Both Tony and Thor had stopped around the same time, as the spiraling path of colours had come to an end. It looked familiar. But then, so did everything around here.

Tony glanced down at the limp, broken figure in his arms. In his peripheral vision, he could see watching in pain and sorrow, a flash of envy briefly surfacing.

"Can I use your cape?" Tony's question came out of nowhere. Though his voice was soft, the sudden noise in the all-encompassing silence was startling.

Thor looked confused, of course, but unclipped it from his shoulders anyway.

"Might I enquire as to what it will be for?" Tony had been waiting for the question.

"Loki has never liked displaying weakness, has he? Clint had said that when he first came through the portal, he'd looked awful, to put it mildly. And yet he acted as if it was nothing, continued fighting; taking what he'd come for, and pretending he wasn't about to collapse. Right now, he's worse than he could have been then. He's still a god. He still has the right to some dignity. And if Amora sees him like this…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Say no more," Thor said, holding out the cape.

Tony, very hesitantly, swapped him Loki for the cape. He lay the surprisingly heavy red sheet across his arms, half off, and gestured for Thor to place Loki on top of it.

Thor bit his lip, eyes moistening as he looked at his brother in his arms. Passing him to Tony, he tightened his grip on Mjolnir. His brother weighed little, and he was broken and battered, wincing at every movement in his unconscious state.

'_They will pay for what they have done to you, my brother, and you and I will fight side by side once more.'_

He could not watch as Tony covered Loki with the rest of the cape, hiding him from view, but not so that it stifled him. He could not look at the bundle in Tony's arms, wrapped in a cape as though he were no longer living.

Instead he moved closer to the two, softly spoke Amora's name, and wrapped his arm gently around Tony. If it were possible, he felt the iron armor stiffen.

"It will be easier for transportation. I would rather she were touching me than touching you and –"

"And whom, dear Thor?" Came a sickeningly sweet voice from in front of them. Glancing up, they saw Amora smirking at them.

"No theatrics this time?" Asked Tony. "I didn't see a bright flash of green at your entrance. Losing your touch, are we?"

Amora's smile hardened on her face as Tony tightened his arms gently and protectively around Loki. Of course the witch noticed the movement.

"Well now isn't this interesting?" She reached out for the red-wrapped figure. "What do you have here? Surely not-"

Thor reached out and gripped her wrist tightly as she got close to the cape.

"This is not what we called you here for. Take us home, and in turn, your debt shall be paid."

She sneered.

"Certainly. Mr. Stark, I believe these are yours."

Two red cases flew from behind her, and Thor grabbed them.

Tony nodded. He'd completely forgotten about his spare suits.

Green light wrapped around them, and as it began to fade, they heard her voice, playful and malicious, ringing through their ears.

"Have fun."

Steve had made sure that everyone ate together. He didn't enforce it so much at breakfast, and only mildly at lunch, but everyone had to be together at dinner.

They had all cleaned up the destroyed room. Thanks to JARVIS, everything was exactly as it was before Thor and Tony had left.

Well, almost. The table was set for lunch, plate and placemats set, bread and assorted sandwich-innards set out neatly in the center. All four of the Avengers that were staying in Stark's mansion sat idly around the table, quiet and subdued. For a time, the art of sandwich making became their topic of conversation. The only noise was that of people asking if others would 'pass the lettuce', or something like that.

And then that fell through as people ate, all of them avoiding what they really wanted to know. Surprisingly, it was Clint who spoke first.

"It's been four days now. Four days, and no word. No 'Hey! We've got Loki now. We're just resting in Asgard. Having a feast, you know.' What if they don't make it back, Steve?"

The Captain shrugged. "We agreed to give them a week. That's three more days before we take this to Fury."

Natasha paused in the act of cutting her sandwich in half (with a very lethal-looking knife). "They can take care of themselves."

Bruce nodded. "And if they come through injured, I've been carrying this first aid kit around since we got here."

Clint smirked. "Always prepared, aren't you?"

Bruce smiled. His response froze on his lips as a green light from behind Clint caught his attention. It was a glow that lasted about two seconds, but everyone had noticed it by then.

Natasha was on her feet, knife in hand, while Clint had an arrow on the bow that had been beside his chair, aimed at the center of the glow. Steve had his hands up, already guarding, and Bruce idly reached behind him to the counter, grabbing the first aid kit that was there.

You could never be too prepared.

It was clear that neither group was expecting the other. It was clear in the way that Thor brought up Mjolnir the moment he saw the figures before them through green-fogged eyes, and the way Tony brought Loki closer and more protectively to his chest.

It was clear in the way that three of the four had weapons, or as good as weapons in Steve's case, pointed at them. Bruce looked as calm as always. Or as calm as usually, anyway.

It was clear in the way that no party lowered their weapons, stiff with surprise and with the surrealistic nature of the situation.

Tony and Thor had expected to find a destroyed kitchen and an empty mansion. The other Avengers were expecting something evil, because that's what they do. And they certainly weren't expecting the two heroes that did pop up, because 'speak of the devil' cases don't happen in those extremes.

But then the shock was over and Thor was booming "My friends!" and greeting them with exuberant hugs, while Steve was berating him. Clint was, over the top of that, asking if they'd 'got the bastard', which earned him glares from said 'bastard's' brother. Natasha was sitting back in her seat expressionlessly, nothing skipping her gaze, including Tony standing uncharacteristically quietly in the corner, mask still down, something wrapped in what was obviously Thor's cape in his stiff arms. And Bruce was eating his sandwich.

It was loud; a cacophony of unwelcome noises. And yet as Tony peeked through the small gap he'd left in the cape, he saw a tiny, almost unnoticeable, bit of tension bleed from Loki. He almost smiled at the sight, if it weren't marred by everything so much worse.

In his ear, he heard JARVIS's "Welcome back, sir."

And then he couldn't put up with it any more. He would have called for everyone to be quiet if it wouldn't disturb the figure in his arms. So he did the next best thing.

"JARVIS. Get them to shut up. As softly as you can."

The soundproof, and probably bulletproof, barrier of glass that descended between the kitchen and lounge areas was a surprise to everyone. Tony included.

"Huh. I'd forgotten I'd put that in there," he murmured, watching the others carefully. From the changing expressions on their faces, he could tell JARVIS was telling them to be quiet. Their faces were queries. He saw Thor glance at him gratefully from the corner of his eye, and nodded in response, finally removing his mask.

As JARVIS lifted the screen once more, Tony smirked briefly at each of them.

"I'd ask what you were doing here, but I can probably guess." Each of them nodded. "I want no hostilities between anyone. Keep noise levels to a minimum at all times. No sudden movements when he wakes up. I don't care what you've told Fury up until now; he is not to know about him. Loki is under our protection. Thor's and mine, at least. Banner, with me. We need to patch him up as best we can – get him to a semi-stable condition so he can start healing. If the rest of you come, I want complete and utter silence." His words were greeted with hesitant, and somewhat reluctant nods of affirmation. He glanced down through the gap in the cloak, to the bloodied and bruised face, his gaze softening.

"His injuries… are bad. I wouldn't wish what happened to him on anyone."

Without bothering to check his teammate's faces, he left the room. Walking through the corridors to a guest room next to his own, Thor and Bruce walking just behind him, he could only hope that they'd gotten to the fallen god in time. He could only hope that he wasn't beyond healing.

* * *

**Just a couple of things here. Firstly, a thanks to everyone who's stuck with us (me) through this, and for putting up with the gaps.**

**I don't know if it's just me, but the story seems to be progressing quite quickly. I'm not going to change it. Up until this point, I've only written short stories. Every big work I've tried has never been completed. This one is going to be different, which I why I need to keep moving with it.**

**In addition, Tony might seem a bit (quite a bit) OOC. Don't worry. It will be explained. **

**I shall, hopefully and probably, see you all soon.**

**W.S**


	7. Green Eyes

**I'm so so so so so sorry this took so long! I was planning to have it up about 2 days later.**

**So I got about 1000 words in and writer's block pounced. I was hoping it would leave me alone, so I went about with work and my social life (or lack thereof) and hoped it would go away.**

**No such luck.**

**So I got to this after noon and I'm like 'nope.' This had to get done, otherwise it never would. So I have this playlist for writers block, and I put that on, and I'm like let's go!  
So I did. And here it is.**

**I should probably start planning these before I write them...**

**The usual disclaimer of not owning anything.**

* * *

A broken figure; a splash of pale skin on a crimson backdrop, bruised on a bloodied and once-clean cape.

Bruce's soft inhalation of breath as Tony gently lifted the cape from the top was more than enough to make him glad that the others had stayed in the kitchen. Thor was catching them up on what had happened, he was sure, so it was just Tony and Bruce in the bedroom with Loki.

Glancing at Bruce's horrified expression, Tony sighed.

"I'm going to get this suit off. Don't move, don't touch him. I don't want him waking up."

Bruce simply nodded as Tony left the room.

He was hurrying, his mind spinning, torn in different directions; in the room with the broken god, in his nightmares and memories of his own torture, in the way that Loki had flinched at every movement and every sound, the spirit of a proud and noble god broken.

Loki was intelligent and powerful. He sounded and carried himself like the aristocracy, strong enough not to show just how much living in his brother's shadow had affected him.

To say Tony didn't like torture on anyone was putting it mildly. He knew the dehumanization of it; how weak you felt afterwards, every part of you having been stripped away. For those strong enough to fight, there was that part in your mind that you could retreat to; surround yourself in a soft bubble of safety as you watch your body and the rest of your mind slowly deteriorate under the onslaught of hate and malevolence.

Loki had a mind like a vice. Tony knew this not only through Thor's stories, but also through his own experience.

As his suit was coming off, Tony was caught in the memory of pale-ice blue eyes meeting his in mild confusion.

Then there'd been the window, of course. Really, he should probably have known better than to taunt the already-maddened god like that, but hey! What was he if not reckless?

He was running back to the room now, anxious to get back to Loki. The protectiveness that he was feeling towards the Trickster was incomparable to any that he had felt before.

He wanted to see Loki as he was before: majestic and powerful; an arrogant smirk on his face as they sparred verbally. A welcome challenge.

Mind you, he'd rather not spar him physically. Again. That had ended with him going through a window in his surprise. He'd much rather Loki not be on the other side of the war again.

Sliding back into the room and into a chair next to the bed that Loki was lying on, he was unsurprised to see that Bruce had unpacked the first-aid kit, and the god was still unmoving.

Loki lived for conflict. It was the only source of attention he'd gotten as a child. Tony knew that his hope was unlikely and unfounded, and pushed it from his mind, instead focusing on doing what he could to help the still-motionless doctor.

"He's in bad shape, Tony."

The genius laughed softly.

"Well if that isn't the understatement of the century…" He grabbed a soft cloth and dipped it in a bowl of steaming water, and paused.

"Bruce. He's a frost giant. Somehow I doubt we should be using warm water. Thanos… Well if we know his heritage, then those who tortured him probably did too."

Bruce's expression was horrified.

"I'd forgotten. I'll go get tap water. That'll be fine, won't it?"

"I dunno. Probably. I'll get it. You focus on what to do next."

Tony grabbed the bowl and walked into the attached bathroom, tipping out the hot water and refilling it as fast as he could.

When he walked back into the room, Bruce had bandages lain out.

"I'd rather him be conscious for some of what we'll do," he said, without looking up. "He'll be disoriented, I'm sure."

"Oh; I was going to mention. He called Thor and I hallucinations when we came to get him. He passed out pretty soon after. Do you think that he actually believes that we were?"

Bruce paused for a second.

"Most likely. If he automatically thought you to be hallucinations when he saw you, it means he'd probably had similar visions in the past. He dreamt of being rescued. It shows how much he hoped for it that it was the people that he'd fought that were rescuing him."

Tony wet the cloth and gently wiped at Loki's face, slowly removing layers of grime and blood.

"We might need more cloths and bowls of water," he murmured, bringing the cloth away, filthy after on gentle swipe. "JARVIS, can you get Thor. If Loki wakes up, I think he should be here."

He glanced up at Bruce, who nodded his assent.

"Certainly, sir."

Tony kept wiping, face expressionless as Loki winced at each pressure in his sleep, none of the bruises new.

That was how it worked. They brought him to the height of pain, going at him until he was one big bruise, and then they left him, taunting him from the sidelines. Waiting until he was healing, but still in pain, before starting again. Waiting until he was just on the edge of hoping that they wouldn't come back. And then they'd repeat, and repeat and repeat. Until he knew that they were playing with him, and he was just a toy, but that didn't stop the hope from becoming more pronounced each time the cycle came through.

For even in the darkest of places, there is hope.

* * *

Steve, Clint and Natasha were silent when Thor had finished. The god had probably figured out what they were all doing here simply by the state of the previously destroyed kitchen. They had all noticed the way his voice had gone as tight as his grip on Mjolnir when he had said, "My brother's injuries are… bad."

It was Steve who spoke first.

"You two have been gone for four days."

Thor's eyes widened in shock, and he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by JARVIS.

"Mr. Odinson; Mr. Stark would like you in the bedroom next to his. He would like you to be present when your brother wakens."

Wordlessly, and with only a nod to the three at the table, Thor walked off. If he noticed the others get up to follow him, he made no comment.

When they arrived in the room, Tony was still gently wiping Loki's face, hiding it, and Bruce was wiping down the god's torso, equally as gingerly.

And then Tony stood up to look at them, and Bruce took his cloth away, and they got their first glimpse of Loki since he'd left for Asgard.

His body was filthy and bloodstained, with the face and torso partially cleaned. His stomach was concaved, ribs sticking out in various places, showing how broken they were. Various places on his body showed his normal pale skin, while the rest was one hug multicolored bruise, blues and purples and greens and yellows all merging. Cuts were layered on bruises, none bleeding, but all bloodied. Even Natasha and Clint looked away when they saw the crisscross of cuts across his lips, where they were torn to shreds.

Steve's horrified and sickened gaze met Tony's, the billionaire's face blank, but everything that he wasn't showing running through his eyes. So the supersoldier nodded, and Tony nodded back and they understood each other. And everything was okay for a little while.

And then Tony turned his eyes to Clint, and they hardened. The bowman glanced over at Loki and his eyes tightened, while Natasha stood blank-faced.

"For a while I thought he deserved whatever came to him," Clint explained. "He took over my mind, and I'm still not ready to forgive that, but I'm not going to do anything to him."

The billionaire hesitated, before nodding sharply.

"Natasha?" He asked.

"I don't trust him, but I'll assume you know where we stand when it comes to torture."

Again, a nod.

Steve clapped Tony on the shoulder, pain in his eyes, before he turned and walked silently out of the room, Natasha and Clint following with one last blank glance at the broken god on the bed.

Thor was sitting in a chair, not too close to the bed so as to get in the way, but only just. The atmosphere was subdued, no one willing to speak.

Bruce had continued wiping just as the others left, and Tony had remained still for a little, before doing the same.

They worked in silence, soft and meticulous, not pressing too hard, but hard enough to get blood from the cuts. No disinfectant at this stage, just water.

And then Tony reached Loki's lips. They had been healing between the branches, so some of the skin had knitted back together. More gently than he had already been, he swiped at one of the cuts.

A soft gasp left the god's mouth, and, for a brief second, his eyes snapped open in a moment of shock and fear.

Brilliant green irises met Tony's soft brown ones as Loki's whole body tensed. Tony recoiled as if shocked, but Loki was already relaxed once more, his eyes softly shut, as if the episode hadn't occurred.

The cloth was clenched tightly in Tony's hand, cool, pink water dripping to the floor as the billionaire breathed hard.

"Anthony, are you okay?" Thor's voice was still soft, and Tony managed to unclench his neck muscles just enough to turn to look at him.

He didn't know why this had affected him so much, but his voice was still tight when he asked Thor what colour Loki's eyes were.

Thor frowned slightly at the question, but answered anyway.

"My brother's eyes have always been green, barring, I am told, when he is in his Jotun form. Why do you ask?"

Tony chewed his lip for a second before answering slowly.

"During his invasion, I remember clearly, that his eyes were blue."

Thor's eyes widened, shock temporarily crossing his features, before he did something that Tony didn't expect.

He grinned widely, and began to laugh.

It wasn't Thor's normal laugh. It was soft and relieved, and Tony and Bruce simply stared at him.

"Do you not _understand_?" He asked them, his face split in two with a grin so gleeful. Both scientists shook their heads, no.

"Tell me, what colour did Natasha say Clint's eyes were when they were fighting?"

And then Bruce and Tony both clicked, but there was still something bothering him.

"She said Clint's eyes were bright blue. But Loki's were pale. Do you know why?"

Thor thought it over for a little, but shook his head.

"I do not. We should ask him when he is well enough."

And then there was silence again, but for the soft wiping of cloths, and the splashes of water, and the creak of a chair when Thor got up to empty out the dirtied bowls and re-fill them.

Loki didn't open his eyes again.

Not through the simple cleaning of him. Not through the disinfectant. Not through the placement of bandages, not through the very slight wash of his hair. Not even through the gentle stitching up of his deepest wounds.

Thor wouldn't let them stitch him up too much, and he refused to let them stitch Loki's lips. They didn't ask. The look on his face told them they wouldn't want to.

Bruce had wanted to re-set Loki's ribs, but he didn't want to risk waking him. They decided they'd do it when he was lucid enough for them to tell him what was happening.

Hours had passed, and Steve had brought them some food, equally as silently, before leaving again.

Tony didn't know what the others were doing, and he found that he didn't really care, either.

And then they had done the basics, as much as they could.

They had dribbled some water through Loki's lips, but hadn't chanced feeding him. They didn't have an IV, and even if they did, they remembered the tales of how Thor had woken up in hospital.

So Bruce and Tony stepped back and packed up, and Bruce left, glancing back once more at the bed.

Thor moved his chair closer to the bed, and Tony placed his hand on his shoulder.

"He'll be okay, buddy. We've got him now."

The Thunderer nodded distractedly.

"Thank you, Tony," he murmured as Tony went to leave.

The corners of his lips turned up.

"Any time, big guy. And I don't mean that literally."

Thor didn't look away from Loki, but smiled slightly anyway.

"Call if you need anything, or if he wakes up,"

Thor nodded. Reluctantly, Tony went to leave the room, though he knew Loki was safe here with Thor.

As he went to close the door behind him, he glanced back in the dim light to see Thor gently place his hand over Loki's, a sad, protective look on his face.

And then the door was shut, and Tony was gone.

He was exhausted. Thor had called at some ungodly hour, and then they'd been gone for about a day and a half their time, but according to Thor, four days earth time.

So he went to bed, his eyes slipping shut as he slipped gently from wakefulness into a soft black land of sleep, spiraling deeper, slipping straight past dreams and into the velvet black comfort of silence.

* * *

**Thank you so much for putting up with my slowness, guys. Thank you to everyone who's following this, who's following this, and to those who've reviewed. It's really nice to know what people think.**

**Again, thank you.**

**And especially, thank you so much to P.B, the other half of this account, for everything. Especially the plot bunny that got this all going.**


	8. A Chance To Finally Rest

**Hello my darlings~  
****Right, so here's some good new and some bad news. The good news is new chapter! (yaaaay)  
The bad news is a) that it's really really short, and b) that I'm going away for Christmas.**

**Now, that's not so bad for me, but it means that no writing is going to get done. I'm only getting home on new year. I'm working on a Christmas chapter for Another! that will be up before I go away, but for this year, this is the last update for He Is Coming.**

**Also, I thought I should probably update before the world ended :P**

**I went into this chapter having not one single clue about what I was going to write. It's in Loki's point of view. I haven't said it outright, so I thought I'd clear up any confusion.**

**I wish you all a very happy holidays, for whatever religion you follow, or don't. I also wish you a happy new year, and I'll see you all then~**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

After his hallucinations, he'd blacked out, holding tightly to the edge of consciousness, but he could no longer tell what was real.

He felt himself wrapped in something soft, pulling softly at deeply buried memories; of falling, of tears, of a warm presence that pulled him into their arms, covered him in a soft, _safe_, red, and held him until the hurt had gone.

And then he lost his hold on the lip of conscious thought, and drifted gently into a land of disjointed dreams of being safe.

The air changed. He could feel it under his haze of ever-present pain and hope.

Though he was covered, he could feel a soft breeze, and the air felt fresher, though slightly venomous. It reminded him of his time on earth.

He had barely slept since being take from Asgard. Perhaps these hallucinations were a mixture of sleep deprivation on top of everything else. He hadn't had one like this before.

The tiny voice at the back of his mind was screaming that it wasn't a dream. He'd learned to pat his hope on the head, and tell it to wait for the proof that it was.

But the air… He couldn't help but feel safer.

Every movement jolted him, but the voices that he could hear dimly in the background sounded so familiar…

He drifted again.

The soft red safety was taken from the top of him at some point, though he could feel it beneath him.

He was… horizontal. Unless Thanos was playing with his inner ear, he was no longer tied to that dreaded post.

He could barely feel his limbs and their position through the bolts of pain.

Something wet was placed on him. He flinched, but the heat that he had expected to be radiating from it wasn't there.

Another joined it, rough in texture, and they gently rubbed over his body, being taken away now and then.

Dim sensations registered in his mind.

And then it touched his lips.

Memories of fear and pain arched through his body, dragging him fully into the waking world, and his eyes snapped open.

They met wide, shocked brown ones. The face they belonged to was blurred, as was everything else, but the eyes were so familiar.

He didn't know if it was a good familiar or bad familiar, but his entire subconscious screamed that those eyes were safe.

And then they were gone, and he was floating through dreams of those eyes, and he was more comfortable than he'd been in such a long time, and the pain was still there, but there was no more coming, and he just wanted to _sleep_.

And then it was black, and he was dead to the world.

Just resting.

And his pain fell away, and he wasn't hungry or thirsty any more.

There was just him.

And then even he was too tired.

So he curled up into a small ball, because he didn't want to face the world just yet.

And he slept.

* * *

**I think I said most of what I wanted to in the beginning...**

**My apologies for the length of the chapter.**

**I hope you enjoyed, and hope you all have a great time.**

**Wish us luck in not dying of heat stroke.  
Australia in summer.**

**Woo...  
**

**Enjoy your holidays, from both of us here, and as always, thank you for reading.**


	9. Coffee and Waffles

**So, uh... hi?**

**Pretty please don't mob me. Us. **

**I went away, and then came back, and went away again. And everything lasted longer than I thought it would. There wasn't much time to write, but here's chapter 8. Chapter 9, if you include the prologue.**

**I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

Tony's sleep was long, dreamless and uninterrupted. He slept better than he had in a long while, simply because in was the much-needed sleep of the bone-weary.

He woke late the next afternoon and rolled off his bed ungracefully, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor.

The pained groan that accompanied this was greeted with JARVIS' 'good afternoon sir,' in the same tones as ever.

And because Tony was utterly incapable of putting words together to make coherent sentences just then, he dragged himself up off the floor and into the shower.

No one was really surprised to see him stumble into the kitchen and down half a cup of coffee on his way to the table, grabbing a JARVIS-made plate of waffles on the way, but that could have been because one of them was reading and the other was asleep.

Only once both the coffee and waffles were finished did he pause for a second, eyes wide, before letting his head drop to the table, a dull 'thunk' echoing through the room.

Steve glanced up from where he was reading the newspaper (seriously, who did that, these days?) with a slight smirk on his face.

"Don't look at me like that," huffed Tony. "I swear, you're picking up bad habits from us."

Steve laughed. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Very. Now I have to deal with everything I did in the past two, apparently four, days."

The captain raised his eyebrows.

"You seemed very protective of Loki."

Tony ignored the question behind his words, instead answering that yes, he was, and planned to remain that way, before announcing that he was going to check on said god, and walking off.

Steve's soft laughter followed him out of the room, and Bruce remained asleep on the couch.

The door to Loki's room was closed, and Thor's distinctive snores emanated from behind it, albeit softer than normal. It was as if even his subconscious was trying not to disturb his injured brother.

Tony opened the door softly, and snuck inside, shutting it behind him, eyes locked on Loki.

At the slight click that the door made, the skin around his eyes tightened for a split second, before relaxing again. At the flinch, Tony knew he was awake.

Or hoped he was, because if he were flinching at sounds in his sleep, his situation was worse than they had thought. Or that Tony had, at least.

But he decided to play along; talk to the 'sleeping' god. He didn't want him frightened, awake in an unfamiliar place that he possibly thought a hallucination, magicless and defenseless, with no idea as to how he got here. The least Tony could do was explain things.

"Loki?" He began softly, "You'll probably be scared when you wake up," Gave a soft laugh, "I know I would be. We don't want you to be, though. Thor came to me when you'd 'escaped from Asgard. He didn't believe you had. You remember me, right? Tony Stark? We fought when you were here on Earth, trying to take over. I don't know if it was all you, though. There was something about your eyes…"

Tony trailed off for a few seconds, but nothing had changed about Loki's demeanor. If it weren't for the flinch at the closing of the door, or the one where Tony had unexpectedly started speaking, the god would have passed as asleep.

"So Thor burst into my house at 2am, and being the generous person that I am," Was that almost a smirk? "I agreed to help him find you. I don't know why he came to me, but I could help him. Remember? You told me, before I put the gag on you, that Thanos didn't accept failure? That's how we knew where to look, I think. Well, where Thor knew to look. So went to visit Amora."

Here, Tony stopped, a scowl across his face.

"She's an utter cow, you know that? I have no idea how you Asgardians put up with her…"

Another pause.

"Anyway, paid the obligatory visit to the king and queen. Odin is almost as intimidating as Fury, what with the one-eye thing and all."

Still no reaction from Loki.

"And then we went back to visit Amora, and she took us to this place 'between the branches', which, I don't understand, and I'm also told that it's not a place, which I don't understand either. I don't like not understanding things, see, and I hear you're kind of an expert on this sort of thing, so when you're… coherent, would you mind explaining it to me?"

Tony bit his lip slightly. Here he was, talking to a possibly unconscious god, while said god's brother snored beside him, asleep in a chair, head pillowed on his folded arms on the bed. All he could hope for was that Thor didn't wake.

"And then we flew for a long time, and we found Thanos' ship… thing, and you were there. Then this creepy guy with six fingers came out and was talking to you. You were in bad shape, Loki. So we brought you here, and Bruce and I patched you up. Everyone was already here. Apparently we'd been missing for four days, though it had only felt like two to Thor and me. So you're here now, and we're going to get you healed. When you wake up, I'll bring you something to eat. How about soup? Do you like soup? Pepper made me soup when I was sick once. Anyway. Sleep well, Loki."

And then Tony turned and left the room.

Bruce was still asleep when Tony got back to the kitchen lounge area thing (he'd never quite put a name to it), so he sat on the scientist's legs.

"There's a perfectly good couch over there, Tony," Steve pointed out, not even looking up from the paper.

"Yeah, well, this is my house. I can sit where I want, and this is my favourite couch."

"You barely ever come out from your workshop Tony," came Bruce's muttered, almost unintelligible reply.

Tony squealed and fell on the floor. Again.

"How long have you been awake?! Steve- shut up."

"Since you sat on me," said Bruce, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, over the sound of Steve's laughter. "I really hoped that it was still some horrible dream, and then you spoke, and I realized my brain would never put me through that kind of torture willingly."

Steve started laughing harder.

"Is the kettle boiled? I would really like some tea."

Tony stared up at him from the floor as he walked to the kitchen, speechless, for a very rare moment.

"Did I just get out-sassed by the most reclusive… anything that I have ever met?"

Steve picked up the newspaper from where he'd dropped it, folded it, and placed it on the table.

"I learned from the best!" Bruce called.

"Compliments will get you nowhere," Tony grumped.

Bruce simply waved his mug in the air and grinned.

"Sir," JARVIS broke in. "Ms. Potts-"

"Oh no." Came Tony's horrified murmur, as he turned wide eyes on Steve. JARVIS politely shut up for the rant that he knew was coming.

"What did you tell her? Surely you told her something! It's been four days, she must have tried to contact me at some point!"

By this stage he was holding Steve's shoulders as the soldier leant back slightly, lips slightly parted in mild shock. He placed his hands on Tony's wrists and gently pried them from his shoulders. Tony was still ranting in panic, his fists clenching and unclenching, as Steve moved to hold both wrists gently but firmly in one hand, and placed the other over the other man's mouth.

It took only a couple of seconds for Tony's brain to catch up to the situation and to stop talking and glare at Steve. The soldier made a disgusted face as his captive began licking his hand and trying to bite it in an attempt to get it off his mouth, and tugging at his wrists, but otherwise ignored his efforts to get free.

"She called once, on the second day, but we told her you were in your lab working on something and you _really_didn't want to be disturbed. You'd even kicked Bruce out, but we were making sure you were eating and not downing too much alcohol- Tony stop that!"

By this point Tony was leaning into Steve's hand and trying to nip the skin, but he stopped and glared over the hand covering his mouth.

"I swear, you're 5 years old. Anyway, she seemed content with that, and hasn't tried to come by. We haven't told her anything about where you were or our new guest."

He abruptly wrenched his hand away and wiped Tony's drool over the front of the other man's shirt.

"That is disgusting. Now stop panicking and listen to what JARVIS has to say."

"I was not _panicking_," Tony muttered, but waved his hand nonetheless, and was rewarded by his AI's polite cough.

"As I was saying sir, Ms. Potts has attempted to call you twice this morning, though I informed her that you were asleep, and she asked that you call her back as soon as possible."

Steve smirked.

"Oh be quiet," Tony snapped, though he was already relaxing slightly.

The supersoldier raised his arms in surrender, an innocent smile across his face. "I didn't make a sound."

Bruce laughed softly as he walked back over to the couch with his tea in hand, as Tony looked at Steve silently for a few seconds, scowling.

"You've been spending too much time with Tony, Steve. His sardonicism is rubbing off on you."

"Stay out of this Bruce," Said Tony, mock-glaring.

"Why? Just because I 'out-sassed' you earlier?" He made air quotes with one hand, not letting go of his oh-so-precious tea.

Steve started laughing softly, and Bruce joined in. Tony, though he would never admit to such a thing, simply pouted, announcing that he should probably call Pepper back.

"Already calling her, sir," JARVIS announced as Tony opened his mouth to ask him to do just that.

"I knew there was a reason I invented you," He grinned, before sitting back down on his couch, ignoring Bruce on the other end of it.

Pepper picked up almost straight away.

"About time you emerged from your lair," Were her first words.

"Nice to hear from you too, Pep. Apparently I was under orders to call you ASAP, so this'd better be important."

"Yes and no. Part of it was a check-up, because if Steve had told me that you were still in your lab, I would have marched on over and dragged you out, and part of it is business."

"Ugh, business. How boring. You're CEO, aren't you? You're supposed to deal with this stuff."

He could practically hear her rolling her eyes over the phone.

"I've already looked through it. It's just some stuff that needs your signature. I've already sent it all to JARVIS. You can sign it right now, and it'll all be done."

The forms appear in front of him, and he grabbed a pen from the coffee table.

"And in terms of checking up on you."

Tony groaned as he swished the pen through the air.

"I'm _fine_Pepper. Steve made sure I was eating. He's like a replacement you!"

He laughed at Steve's raised eyebrow and comment of "I dearly hope not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Was Pepper's indignant reply.

"Well I'm not homophobic or anything, but, uh… He's not exactly… my type."

Pepper burst out laughing at his stumbling attempts at coherency, and Tony burst out laughing at his red cheeks.

"It's okay Steve, I don't blame you. Now, Tony, unlike you seem to, I have work to be doing, so-"

"Wait!" His outburst even took him by surprise.

"Yes?" Came her wary reply.

"Well, I was wondering if you could make some soup." His face was scrunched up like he was afraid she was going to slap him.

A pause from her end.

"Soup?"

"Yes. Like that time when I was sick. Please."

Another pause.

"You do know I just used packet soup, Tony. You can make it yourself. Just add water."

He froze.

"You mean… you didn't actually make me soup?" He made his voice as pathetic as he could.

She laughed.

"You made me CEO, Tony. I didn't exactly have the time. Besides, do you have any idea how whiny you are when you're sick? I'd rather have you put down packet soup than my cooking. Now, I have work to get to. Goodbye."

She hung up, cutting off his exclamation of the fact that he was _not_ whiny when he was sick.

This was greeted by raised eyebrows from his two companions.

"JARVIS, order some of those soup packets. Get them delivered as soon as you can," he grumped.

"Yes sir."

Tony ignored the soft chuckles from his companions, picked up his tablet, and set about ignoring them.

Loki had, in fact, been awake through the mortal's speech. He had woken up the moment he had heard the door click open, exhausted but alert. He was automatically aware of a familiar breathing/snoring pattern that was coming from beside him, and someone entering the room.

The hyperawareness lasted for only a short time, but he was sure he flinched slightly, but the mortal made no mention of it.

He automatically recognized the voice, but it was only when the man mentioned his name did it all come together.

He was Tony Stark, the Iron Man, and the one with whom he'd sparred. He was the one he'd imagined coming to rescue him when he was being tortured over and over again. The brown-eyed man who'd dabbed at his lips so gently, trying not to hurt him.

He wondered how long he'd been missing. Stark had pointed out just how differently time flowed where he'd been, between the branches. He'd been there but a few times before, and recognized the atmosphere, or lack thereof, the moment he'd arrived. But his time there had felt like it had spanned eons.

It was true. He was terrified, waking up here, though he would never admit it out loud. There was some, though little, comfort knowing that Thor was beside him, as with knowing where he was.

He tried to keep his face as sleep-like as possible, though he felt his facial muscles tighten against his will slightly at the 'generous' comment of the mortal's, and he made sure to keep them under control from there, though it was oh so difficult when he mentioned Amora.

He could almost have laughed when he called her a cow. Somehow, he didn't think he would mind explaining magical theory to him. If he could stay silent for long enough of course.

He didn't quite know how he felt about Banner treating him. He knew the man was an excellent doctor, and had admirable control over the monster within him, but he, of all people, had a very good understanding of how easy it was for people to hold grudges.

The mortal left with a comment about soup, oddly enough. He didn't think he would mind something.

He had been starved, and he knew his stomach would have shrunk significantly, and thus that he wouldn't be able to eat or drink very much. He would need nutrients, and water, and he had a hope that maybe these people would help him. He really had no choice but to trust them whom he'd hurt and tried to kill and even taken over.

But for some reason, they were willing to help.

He did not know how, but the mortal had made him feel more than he had in quite some time.

He'd been ripped and held open for so long physically that it had started to tear into his mind. That was Thanos' play.

In the past, he'd been chained to a rock with a snake dripping venom on him, but that was a different pain.

Thanos had dragged him to cliff, kicking and screaming, and held him over the edge by the scruff of his neck, forcing him to look down. He had whispered in his ear: "Look. This is death; all men's destiny. Can you see her? Can you see that with just a little push, I control her? Can you see my power?"

So Thanos had pushed, and kept him on the edge of that cliff. Only one day, he'd pushed too far, and then Loki was falling.

Down into infinity, a thick darkness spreading through every fibre of his being, clogging up everything until he was panicking. And then the darkness had caressed him oh so softly, and whispered that it was okay now. Everything would be okay.

And for the first time in such a long time, he'd felt okay, with this poison spreading through his veins, and he'd wanted to cry, and wrap himself in this warmth. There was no pain in his body, and every harsh word that had ever been spoken against him had been washed away. There was no anger any more, and the relief of that was unimaginable.

The bitter sting of leaving was almost being washed away when an arc of hot fire washed through him.

His mind was clearer than it had been for such a long time, and he knew what they were doing.

A harsh screech rushed through his mind, death being cheated of her prey, and everything rushed back; pain and anger and hurt.

Hanging limply from that post with only daggers holding him up and tears streaming down his face, he could not tell if he was upset that he had been ripped from the peace and comfort of death, or grateful that her poison had been flushed from his veins for a short time.

But now he knew why Thanos sought to control her so. Any who commanded her would be great, but any who tried was more than a fool.

An especially harsh snore from Thor jolted Loki from the memory. Exhaustion weighed heavy on his bones.

Once more, he slept.

Tony and Bruce went back to check on Loki in the late afternoon. Thor was awake by then, too.

"There has been no change in him. I worry," he greeted them.

"It's normal, Thor," Said Bruce. "He's been through a lot, and his body needs to rest to recuperate. I doubt they let him sleep much while he was wherever they kept him."

Thor nodded, and Tony clapped him on the shoulder.

"Go get something to eat, big guy. We'll take care of him while you're gone."

The thunder god hesitated for a few seconds before nodding.

"You will alert me if he wakes?" He checked, and smiled at Tony's nod before leaving.

The moment the door shut, Tony looked quizzically at Bruce.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "It's just… I've never treated a god before."

Tony laughed.

"Don't tell him I said this, but treat him like a human until he wakes up and tell you if he needs anything special."

Bruce smiled tightly.

"Now, let's change these bandages. I'll go fill up bowls of water."

Bruce nodded and set to unwrapping bandages.

By the time Tony had filled up all four bowls, Bruce was already half done with the unwrapping, face blank.

"Any signs of infection?" Tony asked as he moved in to help.

"None. No sign in any of the old injuries either, despite how dirtied they were…"

"This is unusual, I assume."

"Yes. All of the dirt in the wounds should have introduced bacteria and-. Well, they should have gotten infected. They might yet, but the fact that they haven't makes our job so much easier."

Tony smiled.

"Good."

They moment they had the dirty bandages off, they set about cleaning the wounds again, the Dettol in the water solution a precaution against infection.

Again, Tony was terribly cautious when it came to the lips; more so, considering last time, but nothing untoward happened but a slight flinch.

Once the wounds were all bandaged again, Tony dribbled some clean water through the slightly parted lips before stepping back to where Bruce was studying the unconscious body with a slight frown.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"I was going to make a comment that we were lucky that there's no internal bleeding, but with broken ribs, there should be. In terms of your body healing yourself, unless the injury is bad, it's unlikely you'll survive, and it takes a long time for the body to reabsorb the blood. Either he's healing very quickly from the more serious injuries, or he spent longer there than we thought with someone trying not to kill him, going for enough to drain the blood from him, or both."

Tony paused for a second.

"I'm inclined to go with both. He's a god after all."

He drained the water from the bowls, and dragged Bruce from the room as Thor walked back in with waffles and coffee.

They exchanged soft smiles, in passing, but no words were spoken, and Thor politely closed the door behind them.

* * *

**I, we, go back to school on Friday for my final year, so everything's going to drop off a little... further. I'm so sorry. I know I'm bad with updates, but I do try.**

**I hope you liked the chapter. Please do tell us what you think.**

**The next chapter will be up very, very soon. Much sooner than this last one.**


	10. Waking

**Hello~  
****So when I said I'd update soon, I actually did mean soon...  
Also, I was re-reading the last chapter on the website, and I realised that I'd forgotten to go back through and put the line breaks back in. My apologies. I haven't fixed it, though...**

**So we're both back at school now. Unexpectedly, we have one of our favourite teachers for both Chemistry and Physics, which was unexpected but amazing.**

* * *

They faced their first almost-obstacle the next day when Clint and Natasha came by. It wasn't their presence, but the news they brought.

"Fury wants us on a mission. All of us."

They all froze for one terrible second, before Tony burst into motion.

"Can't. Got work; important meetings, can't miss, been putting them off too long," he burst out, before freezing once more, and then laughing. "And none of you have that excuse."

Natasha simply raised an eyebrow.

"He might actually believe that one. You usually throw all work aside to go on missions, and now it's the other way around. And if we throw in that Pepper won't let you go…"

Clint nodded.

"He might be miffed." He paused, and then grinned. "And might not. There'll be none of your annoying prying for him."

"Exactly!" Tony exclaimed.

"But," He continued, "None of the others have any excuse. Except Thor, because he's meant to be on another world. Despite him smashing through your window, the boss man still seems unaware of his presence here. Other than that, we need the other two now."

"What?" Asked Bruce. "Right now?"

Natasha and Clint nodded.

The scientists glanced over at each other, Bruce's calm gaze meeting Tony's horrified one.

"What if something happens? Where's your first aid kit? What if I do something wrong?"

Bruce shook his head.

"The first aid kit is in his room. Also, you've got Google, Tony. I'm sure you'll be fine."

Then they left.

The next was Pepper's phone call, only a few minutes later.

He could hear her smug grin.

"So I heard everyone was going on a mission but you. It was kind of Fury to let you stay behind to catch up on your work."

He was cursing Natasha with every fibre of his being by the time his CEO had hung up.

* * *

Thor agreed to take care of Loki, because Tony had to attend two meetings this afternoon, and the others wouldn't be back for at least 3 days.

Loki hadn't woken since that moment with Tony that they were aware of. He'd been checking on him obsessively, and he'd delivered things for Thor to do, none of which seemed to have been used.

Understandable, considering he'd given the big guy stuff like a Rubik's cube, but he hadn't really been thinking clearly when he'd taken the infuriating device into the room.

Thor was under strict instructions to call Tony if Loki woke, or his condition took a sudden downhill turn, and if Loki needed something before Tony had time to get there, JARVIS would instruct him on what to do.

Only after constant assurances from Thor that everything would be fine, and much more panicking and 'are you sure?'s did Tony finally put on his suit and leave.

The meetings were boring, as they always were, and for a change, Tony was mostly silent, thinking about what he was going to do when Loki woke. Without his constant butting in to the conversation, though, the meeting went smoother and faster with Pepper running it. She gave him a few looks of confusion and approval at comments that he didn't make but could have

And then the meetings were over, and she cornered him.

It was like a dance at the door. Every one else had left the meeting room, and Pepper was standing in wait. When he tried to go one way, she'd go the same. They did this a few times, before Tony caved.

"Alright. What do you want, Pep?"

"What's going on, Tony?"

"Well that was quick. No 'hi how are you Tony?', 'so nice to see you again Tony.' Straight to the chase."

"Tony…" Her tone was dangerous.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh come on. You said next to nothing in that meeting. I didn't have to elbow you once."

He winced as phantom pain shot through his ribs, and he rubbed them.

"Well maybe I've learned. I don't think my ribs have still fully healed from last time you did."

She smiled slightly, before continuing.

"Stop avoiding the question. I know you, Anthony Stark. You haven't asked for more soup before. What is going on?"

She ad her hands on her hips by this stage, eyebrows raised.

"I felt like soup."

She rolled her eyes.

"The only time you ever want soup is when you're sick. And you're not sick. I would be able to hear your whining from here if you were in bed if you were." She seemed to pause for a few seconds in thought. "So… is someone you care about sick?"

He froze. He knew it was telling, but her words…

"Care about? I don't…" He trailed off. He couldn't possibly… could he?

And yet he was so obviously protective of the broken god. Surely some part of him must care. Not that he'd admit it readily.

Pepper was looking at him intently.

"You don't…?"

"I don't… _care_ about him. It's more that I have to keep him safe."

Her eyes were wide.

"_Him_?!" Her voice was an octave higher than usual. "_Protect_? I can't tell if you're talking about your latest conquest or a small child."

He hesitated for half a second, before grabbing on to her shoulders.

"Pepper. Once everything's calmed down and I figure out what to do, I'll explain it all to you. I promise."

And then he gently moved her to the side and walked out, leaving her staring at him, blank-faced.

Had he even thought about what he'd just said, he would know that she would most definitely be thinking about how to get into the mansion and figure out just what was going on.

* * *

He was in the car on the way home when Thor called. His automatic thought was that Loki had woken, and he couldn't decide whether to panic or be happy.

Thor's news was, however, worse.

He knew he'd broken every speed limit ever in his haste to get home, but by that stage he didn't care.

* * *

He threw open the door as he strode into the room, focusing on Thor, rather than on the motionless figure on the bed.

"Explain to me what happened again."

"I do not know. He simply began choking. Your JARVIS explained to me what to do, however. I asked him to contact you afterwards, as there was no time during what was happening. I rolled Loki onto his side, and he began coughing up blood. There was a bowl nearby that I placed beneath his mouth. Most of the blood ended up in there. I worry that he will begin coughing again."

Tony nodded brusquely, refusing to look at the bowl sitting innocently on the sideboard.

"JARVIS. Did you run scans?"

"Yes sir. The blood appeared to have been coming from his lungs, however it seemed to have appeared suddenly. I could not run proper scans in this environment, but his lungs seem to be undamaged."

The billionaire paused for a few seconds, taking in what this could mean, before turning to Thor.

"I have a theory, but I need your opinion."

Thor frowned, but nodded.

"I will provide what information I can"

"Do you guys, or does Loki at least, heal faster than us mortals?"

The thunder god shook his head.

"I would not know. I mean no offence by this, but I know that we are more durable than most Midgardians. Loki's magic has always seemed to take care of his worst injuries, but without his magic, I could not say."

"that's what I thought might be the case." Tony began pacing slightly. "Loki's magic was sealed inside him, and not drained from him. It couldn't be, because it is rooted so deep within him that removing all of his magic would most likely kill him. Odin cut off as much of Loki's magic as he could from the source, but there's still some left; enough to keep him alive. He can survive easily, as if a normal Asgardian, but can't use magic. What's left of it, though, is doing what it can from within it's restraints to heal him."

Thor nodded.

"This could be likely."

"So what just happened was that his lung had some small injury. It was healing, but bleeding as it did. If I had had that kind of injury, for example, I would have bled into my lung, drowned on my own blood, and died. But healed slightly faster. That was his body purging all the blood from his lungs!"

Tony was really quite excited at this theory, probably because it had something to do with aspects and things that he didn't understand. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, and grinning like a maniac.

This was interrupted by a hoarse voice; barely a whisper, but echoing through the silence.

"You are more correct than you know, Stark."

Thor and Tony turned slowly to wards the bed to see two sleepy, pained green orbs regarding them warily.

Loki was finally awake.

* * *

On another world, two golden eyes blinked slowly, before their bearer walked easily to the throne room.

At his formidable presence, everyone bowed aside. As he arrived in the throne room, the monarchs dismissed everyone before looking to their guest eagerly.

"I still cannot see him properly. What remains of his magic, though not under his control, is doing all that it can to protect him. I cannot hear him, though I know when he speaks. He is simply a shadow," he began, and the queen's face fell, though the king's remained impassive, but as he continued, her eyes lit up once more. "However, it seems that he has woken."

Frigga smiled beautifully, and Odin simply nodded.

"Thank you, Heimdall. Please continue to watch for him."

The large gatekeeper nodded, and began to walk away. At the door, however, he topped and turned.

"Much will become of those two. There is chance of them causing harm together, but more chance while separate. Already, their lives are connected. It will likely take more than death to separate them."

The bang of the closing door was ominous in the silence he left behind.

Frigga turned to her husband.

"Do you think-?"

Odin cut her off softly.

"Though Heimdall's words are only possibilities, I think that Loki might find happiness there."

She smiled.

"Do you think we might get our son back?"

The Allfather shook his head.

"Though he is the Liesmith, I think he spoke true that day." Frigga did not need to ask of which day he spoke. "He feels truly betrayed. It will take a long time for those scars to heal."

A sad nod came from his wife.

"Maybe one day…"

The smiled gently at each other as the door to the throne room was opened again, and Odin's face fell into an impassive mask once more.

* * *

Tony had to restrain Thor so that the large god didn't jump on Loki and crush him with hugs. It didn't take much: just a pat on his arm to remind him of the state that his adoptive brother was in.

"Loki," Thor breathed. "How are you feeling?"

It looked like it took all of the green-eyed god's effort to not roll his eyes.

"Wonderful, Thor. Just perfect." His voice was hoarse and broken, but that didn't stop sarcasm ringing through it.

Thor's face fell slightly at the sardonic words, but he was smiling a second later.

"I am glad you feel well enough to speak."

Loki made no move to acknowledge the comment.

Tony moved carefully to beside the bed, making sure not to make any sudden movements, and Loki warily tracked the motion.

"I have water here, if you would like some," He said softly.

Loki's face became instantly more guarded, but he nodded slowly.

Tony made sure his movements were well broadcasted as he gripped the full glass.

"Can you sit up?"

He of all people knew that Loki wouldn't want help with moving, even if he really needed it.

With much grimacing, hidden as much as the Trickster possibly could, and a few breaks, he pushed himself up the headrest as Tony piled pillows behind his back. He made sure to wave Thor off as subtly as possible whenever he tried to move forward to help, but he was certain that Loki saw the movements. His eyes were darting around the room, probably locating exits and weapons, assessing everything, but Tony simply settled the covers around his waist.

He moved the glass forward slowly, towards Loki's face, but held it still when he reached his chin.

Sure enough, the god sluggishly began moving his hand towards the glass, and his lips quirked up slightly, gratefully, Tony hoped.

Only when those long, slender fingers were gripping the glass tightly did Tony let go.

The arm holding it dipped suddenly, but Tony's arm was already there, gently supporting the bottom of the glass, his face blank.

He knew he couldn't show sympathy or it would be mistaken for pity, so really, he could simply show nothing.

A frustrated sigh escaped Loki's lips as his brow furrowed, and he stared determinedly at the glass.

"Thor," said Tony softly, feeling the glass jerk slightly on top of his fingers, Loki's eyes snapping up to meet his, "Could you please go into the kitchen and blend up some of the fruit that Bruce bought. JARVIS will instruct you."

He felt Thor jerk from where he had been hovering behind him, and begin to argue, but Loki's eyes moved quickly to his blue ones.

"Yes, please, Thor. I do not think that I could stomach solid food at this stage," He said softly. Tony knew that Thor would not be able to resist his brother's weakened voice.

Sure enough, a second later he heard the door open and close behind him.

"Well played," smirked Tony.

A hoarse sound that could possibly have been a chuckle emanated from Loki's throat.

"You started it. I would thank you for knowing that I did not want him here if it were a principle of mine."

Tony simply tapped the bottom of the glass held in their hands.

"I wouldn't have expected it. I only hope he isn't wrecking my kitchen," he smiled softly.

Loki's response was to shakily begin lifting the glass to his own lips again. Tony couldn't help noticing that they weren't quite in the tatters that they were before. They were held together better. Loki truly was healing faster. Tony slowly pulled his hand away, but made sure it would be easy to reach the glass without jerking too much.

The glass reached the god's parched lips, and he slowly tipped it up without taking his eyes off Tony. The moment the water entered his mouth, any intentions he probably had of drinking slowly flew out the window. His eyes slid shut, and he began gulping down the water as if he were dying.

Or he attempted to.

He got one big gulp down before Tony reached up and gently pulled the glass down.

The moment Loki felt the glass being moved, his eyes snapped open, boring into Tony's, and the Iron Man couldn't help but recall the incident when he was cleaning up Loki's lips.

The god's hand snapped down, and he gripped Tony's wrist in an attempt to tip the glass back up, but Tony was stronger.

As Tony pulled the drink further away from the Loki's mouth, coherent thought seemed to return, and the billionaire watched as the mania faded from his eyes, and a frown began to develop.

Loki let go of the glass and let his hand fall to the bed, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips, and Tony laughed softly.

"I did the same thing. I knew what was going to happen, and I lost control and did it anyway. It happens to the best of us."

He was smirking, and he knew that Loki understood that it was meant to be humorous.

"Don't be so self-centered, Stark," He huffed out, his voice still hoarse.

Tony lifted the glass once more, and Loki lifted his hand to meet it. This time, he didn't remove his hand from it.

He gently tipped a small mouthful of water into Loki's mouth, the god's hand wrapped around his wrist in a vain attempt to tip it further. Only once Loki had swallowed did Tony raise the glass again.

Every movement caused Loki pain. Being this close to him, Tony could see it. He knew that Loki didn't trust him just from the way that he never let his eyes stray from Tony's. He could see how much effort it took for the god to swallow.

Barely a quarter of the water was gone when Tony pulled the glass away completely. Loki made futile grabbing motions for it, before obviously berating himself at his lack of control.

Tony made sure the glass was far out of his reach. Loki's eyes finally left his to track the motion, but snapped back instantly at the dull thud it made on the wooden dresser.

"C'mon. Let's get you to the bathroom," Tony grinned. "My sheets have been soiled badly enough already thanks. I don't know if I'll ever get those bloodstains out."

Loki's face coloured, but he slowly swung his legs out from under the bedclothes without saying anything.

He was perched on the edge of the bed, hands gripping the sides tightly, when Tony decided that he should probably distract him from what he knew from personal experience would be a daunting and humiliating trip.

"What did you mean when you said I was more correct than I knew?"

He didn't miss the faint flash of gratitude across Loki's face.

As he began to speak, Loki began attempting to stand up, too, using the dresser as support and clutching at his skeletal frame.

"I should probably have said that you were mostly correct. If my magic were removed from me, which would be an extraordinarily lengthy and laborious process, I would not die. As you theorized, my magic has not been fully removed from me. I cannot access it consciously, or do anything with it. It is like a defensive survival instinct." By this stage, Loki was upright, swaying, and gripping onto the dresser with white knuckles, his voice tight. "It will heal me as best it can, given my access to it. This means healing at a slightly faster rate to normal, but expending more energy. As you said, it is the reason I am still alive."

He paused, staring past Tony to the bathroom door determinedly, let go of the dresser and took a step forwards.

His legs gave way, and he began to collapse.

Tony darted forwards, and wrapped his arms gently around Loki's waist; enough to support him, but not yank him up. He did his best not to aggravate any of the injuries, but with the amount that they were, he knew he was causing damage. He also knew that Loki was causing damage simply by being out of bed, but he could remember his time being down. There was no way that the god would stay immobile for long.

Loki got his feet under him, and Tony helped lift him up. Once he was upright, Tony moved to let go, but the god clamped his hand on Tony's arm. When the billionaire glanced up, Loki's face was blank, staring straight ahead.

Tony smiled slightly to himself, and withdrew one of his arms, leaving the other around Loki's waist as support. Slowly the Trickster let go of his arm, and took a step forwards.

Together they walked slowly across the room, Loki's legs almost giving way on most of the steps, but Tony was there to support him. They didn't speak.

Tony went into the bathroom with him, before stepping away and leaving Loki supporting himself on the toilet. There was a faint glimmer of gratitude in his eyes, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"I'll wait by the door," he said softly. "I'd really rather you didn't fall over and die now that we've finally got you healing."

Loki smirked as Tony turned away.

"I suppose you won't permit me a bath," he heard, over the running water. He took this as his cue to turn around.

Loki was propped up against the sink, sweat on his brow, and tension that he'd been hiding earlier in every line of his body.

He was exhausted and in pain, but somehow still smirking at Tony. He couldn't help admiring the god for that.

But still, he had to shake his head.

"Nope. Doctor's orders. Well, not really." Loki started towards Tony, slowly and laboriously, but not falling over. "I'd just rather not do anything that he hasn't authorized."

The god reached him at the doorway, and Tony got himself into the same position as earlier, with his arm around Loki's waist, and the taller man's arm over his shoulders. Loki didn't say anything, but Tony hadn't expected him to.

Together, they began walking silently back to the bed. They were halfway there when the door began opening. Loki let go of Tony and stepped away from him as if the billionaire had suddenly become a red-hot coal.

Tony simply nodded at him. He understood.

By the time the door had opened completely, the two were a step away from each other, and Loki had begun taking another step forwards, Tony ready to catch him.

Thor stood beaming in the doorway, a tray in his hands with about seven glasses on it, each with a straw.

Tony glanced at him and raised his eyebrows. He had smoothie in his hair and on his face.

"You look like you've been having fun. And I was left trying to deal with this!" He gestured wildly at Loki, ignoring the raised eyebrow and slightly confused look he got for it. "Do you have any idea how stubborn he is? He just _had_ to do _everything_ by himself. He almost got in the bath!"

Thor laughed, and Loki's expression had turned dark, though Tony knew it was only an act.

"I did not 'almost get in the bath', Stark. I do understand that my injuries prevent that at this stage. However, I am well enough to at least walk by myself."

Tony made a face at him, though he was grinning on the inside. Thor, however, laughed once more, strode into the room and placed the tray on the bedside table.

"You are lucky my brother has no weapons, Anthony. He would have cut off any hand that you laid on him in an attempt to help."

Loki's face darkened for real as Thor called him 'brother', but he said nothing, and began the slow walk to the bed once more.

Thor simply stood and watched, though Tony could see him itching to help.

"So what happened to your face?"

Thor glanced over at Tony, surprised, but realization soon dawned.

"Your butler neglected to mention that I was to put the lid on the top. I learned better for the second time."

Loki scoffed, but otherwise stayed silent. Tony flashed a quick grin.

"And that was why you made seven smoothies?" He asked.

Thor shook his head.

"I made five, simply because I did not know which my brother would like better."

Tony nodded understandingly, before widening his eyes.

"Do I have any fruit left?"

Thor looked sheepish.

"I made sure that I did not use all of your fruit. The spiny fruit, pineapple?" Tony nodded. "I did not know how to cut it up, and so I left it."

Loki was almost at the bed.

"So what flavors are they? Strawberry and passionfruit, or something equally ridiculous?"

Thor shook his head, but JARVIS answered for him.

"Watermelon, honeydew and rockmelon. Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry. Passionfruit, mango and orange. Peach and orange. Banana. He was rather adamant on putting similar types of fruit together."

Again, Thor looked slightly abashed, but moved to defend himself.

"The three melons, and three berries all belonged together. JARVIS assured me that the others were quite popular."

Tony, however, was marveling at the quantity and variety.

"Where did we get all that fruit? They don't even all bloom in the same season!"

"Your companions ordered them, sir. They seem to have a better health regime than you do. The fruit was ordered from around the world."

Tony didn't even bother contemplating how much that would have cost as Loki climbed into the bed.

Thor looked at him eagerly.

"Will you try them?"

Loki gave him a withering look, but nodded.

"All but banana."

Tony grinned.

"A man after my own heart," he simpered, batting his eyelashes.

Loki simply glared.

In the end, Loki ended up drinking half of the melon smoothie, Tony not letting him drink any more. Thor went to protest, but abruptly fell silent as Loki and Tony shot him matching glares.

The billionaire could see Loki getting more and more exhausted as each motion expended more energy and caused more pain. The moment he pulled the straw from Loki's lips, he announced that the god should sleep.

Loki looked grateful, but still huffed. He couldn't let the mortal boss him around now, could he?

"Your word is not my command, Stark."

Tony grinned and placed the glass back on the tray.

"You're going to go to sleep now, and Thor is going to stay here with you. Silently." He shot a warning glance at the Thunderer.

"I have been awake for little under an hour. I am a god!"

Tony interrupted whatever he was going to say next.

"And you are injured and need sleep to heal."

Loki fell silent, a dark look on his face as he lay down on the pillows. Tony shot him a brilliant grin, and got JARVIS to shut the curtains.

"Thor," he said. "Call me if something happens. If you need to get out, I'll come babysit the god."

He winked mischievously at the two, grabbed the tray of smoothies and waltzed out the door.

* * *

**There you go~  
****I do so hope you liked it. I rather enjoyed writing this chapter, with Loki finally being awake and everything. It took me a little longer than I expected to get to this stage, though... **

**Until next time~~**


	11. Snooping, Sleep and a Bath

**So, um, hi?**

**I truly am sorry this took so long. What was it, about 4 months? I've had it open, partially-written, for almost all of that time, but only got around to finishing it today. Also, not doing my essay.**

**It's school holidays, by which I mean study break, and I truly am sorry that this took so long. I didn't expect school to be so busy this year, but that's how it is. I'd hoped to have this up about half a term ago, but it didn't get done.**

**But it's here now, and I hope you enjoy.**

**As per usual, I own nothing.**

* * *

The smoothies were covered and were being placed in the fridge when JARVIS announced that Pepper had arrived.

Tony swore, jerked upwards, forgetting he was partially in the fridge, and whacked his head. He swore again, and slammed the fridge door shut.

He stood still for a few seconds, rubbing the back of his head, before meekly turning back to the fridge, grabbing an ice cube, and placing it on the sore spot.

It was unnecessary, but the cold helped somewhat, and it gave him something to do.

He knew that she'd be curious, but hadn't thought that she would act on it so soon.

"Patch me through to her," he grumbled.

The dial tone sounded thrice before the call cut off. Tony scowled, knowing she'd pressed 'ignore', but his grumpy face faded as the elevator door pinged barely a second later.

His face fell into a bland mask as he threw the ice cube into the sink, and gently rubbed the sore, wet patch on the back of his head as his CEO walked through the door.

She was grinning crazily, jauntily swinging her briefcase up onto the counter. Tony flinched slightly as it slammed down, and she opened it, pulling out stacks of paper.

"Oh no," he breathed.

"Oh yes," she grinned evilly. "I figured you could sign these now rather than waiting until two days after they were due, like normal. And it's not like you have much to do." Her tone became business-like. "I've read through them all, so all you have to do is sign."

He closed his eyes wearily, before picking the papers up meekly, as well as the pen that she was holding out, and together they sat down at the dining room table.

As laboriously as he could, he poised the pen over the first 'sign here' mark that Pepper had made, before pursing his lips.

Even more slowly, he lowered the pen to the paper and signed, before sighing, and moving it to the next point.

Pepper burst out laughing, before rolling her eyes.

"It's not that bad, Tony. All you have to do is move your pen. And do hurry up, I have a date in an hour."

He raised his eyebrows at her, widening his eyes slightly.

"Moving on so quickly, Pep? It's almost like you never cared in the first place."

She laughed and shoved at his shoulder.

"You said that about the last guy I dated, too."

"Yeah, well he was a jerk and didn't deserve you."

She nodded sagely, hints of laughter playing around her lips.

"Well at least you didn't make good on either of your threats."

"Well you refused to let me bankrupt him, and Fury would've been mad if I'd blown up his house. I hope this one's better to you."

She smiled softly.

"So do I."

There was a moment of silence, before she rapped her hand on the table.

"Now sign! Don't think you're getting out of this."

He groaned, before beginning the ever-boring process of signing papers.

It took him about half an hour to finish. Neither of them said much, and JARVIS was silent. In the back of his mind, Tony was just hoping that Thor wouldn't decide to come out of the room.

Thankfully, Pepper left very soon after he'd finished, to get ready for her date, and tension that Tony hadn't realized that he'd been holding drained out of his body.

He sagged against the counter in relief for a few seconds. She hadn't found out about Loki, but he hadn't missed the searching glances she'd given him throughout the signing.

He made himself another cup of coffee before walking down to his lab.

It was 3am when he was finally exhausted enough to consider bed, and 5am before he made good on his thought.

He collapsed on the couch, not bothering to head to his room, and fell asleep.

* * *

Loki was dreaming about soft brown eyes and a warm around his waist when it all turned dark.

Phantom pain shot through his limbs as memories rushed past.

A knife speared through his palm.

The sound of his ribs cracking, barely registering underneath all of the other pain.

Fading consciousness.

Being pushed to the point of breaking over and over and over again.

Screams tearing from an already hoarse throat.

A rough growl in his ear, sending more fear through him than the threat of pain itself.

A red-hot needle, threads of darkness dangling.

Moving closer.

Searing pain in his lips.

Thread dragging through.

Trying not to scream, but feeling his lips rip anyway.

Relief, seeing him walk away.

Memories of the last time this happened flashing through his mind.

His companions' laughter.

His brother's laughter.

Not seeing him move.

And then the thread was pulled.

Ripped.

Blood dripping.

Pouring.

Screams dragging themselves through torn lips.

Screaming.

Pain.

Memories.

Blood

blood

blood

rips

searing pain

screams.

Loki's eyes flew open, his breath coming in harsh gasps. His hands flew to his already-healing lips.

Thor was snoring soundly, undisturbed. Loki couldn't have been more grateful for that. At least he hadn't screamed.

It took many minutes for his heart rate to drop, his hand pressed against his lips the entire time.

His eyes darted around the room as his breathing slowed, and he sagged back into the mattress.

Dawn light filtered gently through the gaps in the curtains, and Loki knew that he wouldn't be able to return to sleep.

* * *

Tony woke, dreams of green-eyed laughter flitting just out of reach.

He groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face, before asking JARVIS what time it was.

He felt cramped and his neck and back hurt.

When he was informed that he'd only been asleep for two hours he flopped back onto the couch in defeat, before contemplating what could have woken him.

After tossing and turning for a few minutes, he realized that he wouldn't bee able to get back to sleep.

He heaved himself off the couch, and decided to go check on Loki.

* * *

Loki had decided to wake Thor. If he wasn't sleeping, he saw no point in his brother sleeping, especially considering that he couldn't move too much without assistance, and he'd rather Anthony Stark's than his brothers.

All he desired was some entertainment. And really, what better entertainment than listening to Thor?

The Thunder god woke easily, with a light tap on the shoulder, and was automatically asking if Loki was okay.

The younger god simply waved Thor off, and told him not to bother calling Anthony. He was fine, just couldn't sleep, and thought that maybe listening to Thor droning on would help him fall asleep.

The blonde grinned at the barbed comment, and settled back to begin animatedly describing their trip to Asgard to get him back.

Loki lay back with an amused expression, and let the somewhat comforting sounds of his old companion's voice wash over him.

* * *

There was a lot of stumbling around and banging into walls on the trip to Loki's room, but that's what sleep deprivation did. Tony didn't want to think about the odd fixation on Loki. When one woke up unexpectedly after having dreams about a very familiar pair of eyes, one did not go in search of an injured god, hoping that one's suspicions are correct and that said eyes do indeed belong to him.

But Tony wasn't exactly the epitome of 'normal'.

So there he was, bashing into the corner as he attempted to turn it, slowly waking up as he reached the room where Loki was, and pausing at the sound of Thor's slightly muffled voice.

His waking brain experienced a brief moment of panic, before recognizing that if anything were wrong, JARVIS would have alerted him.

He shakes his head, and opens the door, stepping in to a sudden silence.

Thor was looking at him guiltily, and Loki's eyes were dancing with amusement, a slight smirk playing around his lips.

"Good… morning, boys."

Thor smiled slightly.

"I apologise for not getting you, Anthony, but we did not want to disturb your sleep. You get little enough as it is."

Tony nodded, meeting Loki's eyes.

The Trickster opened his mouth to speak, and the frowned as nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again, his voice hoarse.

"Thor, would you mind getting me the same smoothie that I had yesterday. I assume Anthony has put them in the fridge."

Thor got up and left the room with a murmured 'of course, brother,' and Tony took his vacated seat, nodding.

The moment the door shut, Loki was smirking up at him.

"Thor was just telling me about your adventures to rescue me."

Tony grinned at sparkling green eyes.

"Adventure sounds about right."

"Yes. He said something about a magic blocking signal with which you fought Amora's glamour." Everything about the bedridden god seemed to lean forward, interested. "I'd be grateful if you wouldn't mind explaining it to me."

For a second, he was thrown, but he wasn't Tony Stark if he couldn't deal with that.

"Uh. Well. When we were fighting you, I noticed that your magic seemed to give off a frequency, like radiation." Loki nodded. He'd learned what he could about radiation when he had known he was going to be dealing with Bruce Banner. "So I found a way of blocking it, like you would with radiation. I never had any proof of it working, but…"

To his utter surprise, Loki burst out laughing.

The sound was musical and pained, and Tony simply sat there stunned, as tears of mirth and pain streamed down Loki's face as the injured god gripped his side, nearly bent double on the bed.

Eventually the laughter gave way to slight titters, and Loki finally calmed down.

"Oh, I apologise, Stark, but you couldn't be more wrong. The magic gave off a frequency, yes, but blocking that frequency does not mean that you block the magic."

Tony nodded.

"I figured as much, but I thought is would be worth a try. And never having had any indication as to whether it would work…" He leaned forward intently. "Would you care to explain it, though?"

Loki acted as if there weren't anything he would rather be doing.

"Take this example. I light a fire with magic," He lifted his hand, cupping it as if holding a ball. A soft frown flitted across his face, before he let the hand drop, and continued as if nothing had happened, but Tony could see the pain behind his eyes. "It is burning as hotly as a normal fire, sometimes hotter. You can block the form of radiation frequency that it gives off, but that does not stop it burning. If you put your hand in it, you will still get burned. Be amazed, Stark. You did not block Amora's magic, you thought your way out of her charm."

Another soft laugh slipped past his lips, more forced than the last, and fell silent as Tony processed his words.

Both opened their mouths to speak at the same time, but before either could say anything, Thor walked through the door, carrying Loki's smoothie as carefully as if it were an egg.

Tony stood to give him back his seat, as he silently handed Loki the glass.

Everything was quiet for a while as Loki slowly sipped at the drink, Thor starting forward every now and then as if to speak, before settling back into his seat.

Tony stood smirking at Loki, content to let Thor feel awkward in the silence. Every now and then, the Trickster's eyes would flick up to meet the billionaire's, his lips curving up into a sardonic smirk.

So it was only Thor who was surprised when Loki swiftly and simultaneously slammed his glass onto the bedside table, and threw back his sheets.

"Brother, what-"

Tony could almost see Thor's train of thought screech to a halt at Loki's glare, before he tried again.

"Loki, what are you doing?"

"I am going, Thor, to the bathroom. Unless you would like to accompany me, I highly suggest that you remain seated."

Thor made as if to stand, but Tony clapped his hand on the god's shoulder.

"He was joking, buddy. He _really_ doesn't want you to go with."

The two watched as Loki slowly, painfully, laboriously, clambered out of the bed, and moved across the room.

Each time Thor made to stand, Tony pushed down on his shoulder. As Loki moved passed him, a faintly grateful expression passed across his face.

It took Loki a shorter amount of time to cross the room than last, and Tony could practically see him healing. It was marvelous. Miraculous. Magic.

Again, Tony had to push Thor down as the bathroom door shut.

"Why do you try to keep me from him, Stark?"

The Thunderer's voice was dangerously low, but Tony ignored the anger throbbing through it.

"I'm not trying to keep you from anyone. I'm just trying to keep you safe. He's prideful, and as much as I hate to admit it, you're useful in fights. We wouldn't want you out of order now, would we?"

Thor laughed grudgingly at his smirk.

They waited silently for Loki's return, and neither spoke as he crawled majestically back into bed.

Really.

Tony didn't know how he managed that one.

He wasn't even wearing a cape!

Loki gave them each a glare, but remained silent.

There was a pause for a few moments, before Tony announced that he would be going back to sleep, and planned to sleep the rest of the day, thank you very much.

He closed the door with a parting "don't wake me unless it's an emergency!" and stalked next door to his room, collapsed on the bed, and fell asleep.

* * *

He woke later, groggy and muddled. The few seconds it took for him to get his bearings were terrible, and his head throbbed in confusion as he tried to figure out what had woken him.

His butler's mechanical voice rang out in the silence, and he realized that JARVIS' call of 'wake up, sir', must have been the cause.

"I'm awake, JARV. What is it?"

"The others are back."

And that was all it took to have him bolting out of bed to the kitchen.

* * *

The others were gathered around the kitchen table as he sauntered in, each holding their usual 'after-mission' item.

It was a tradition. They got back, and everyone would grab something to eat, to drink, to hold, to watch, to read, or something. But they all had something special.

"Well that was quick," he said, an eyebrow raised. "And no visible injuries. Banner, are those the same clothes you left in?"

Bruce laughed softly, twisting his mug of green tea on the table.

"Yes, it is." Clint piped up. "He didn't go green once. It was a close, easy mission."

"Details?" Tony was mildly curious.

"Nothing interesting. At all. Really. I shot an arrow, Tasha shot a bullet, Steve threw his shield, and it was basically over."

Stark smirked slightly as Steve nodded from where he was sketching.

"Looks like you'll need a new book soon, Cap."

The captain didn't even glance up.

"Yes. Yes I will."

There was silence for barely a second before Natasha asked how Loki and Thor were doing.

Clint's face hardened slightly, but he looked mildly curious nonetheless.

"Fine. Loki's healing extremely fast. He was awake earlier, but he's probably asleep now. Bruce, he wants a bath. Or shower. Something."

The Doctor nodded.

"I'll have to check on him first, but if he's awake already, and healing that fast, then he'd probably be fine for one."

"Yeah. He's had a smoothie, and-"

Clint laughed.

"I hope the ones in the fridge weren't for him, then, because we polished them off."

Tony snickered.

"No. He's a fussy one; just took the one that he wanted. Thor made a whole bunch, and thankfully cleaned up his mess."

He paused for a second.

"I was going to say that that was the most interesting thing that happened, but it wasn't. Pepper got suspicious, and gave a half-hearted sniff around. She'll be back. But I'm going to need to tell her the truth."

Everyone froze for half a heartbeat before protests arose. Natasha shut them all down pretty quickly.

"Stark's right. It's best to tell her. She knows everything else anyway. Pepper's observant. She'd just be furious if we kept it from her."

Steve hesitated, before nodding, and getting up.

"I believe it's Thor's turn to make dinner, but since he's taking care of Loki, I'll do it. Bruce, Tony, go do your check-ups. Clint, Natasha," he gave them a non-threatening glare to emphasize his point, "You're helping me."

Both looked as if they were going to complain, but the scientists slid away before any arguments arose.

* * *

Thor was sleeping soundly in his chair as Tony and Bruce slid in through the door.

"I almost fell guilty about waking him," mused the billionaire, looking at the blonde's puppy-like face.

Banner rolled his eyes as he nudged the sleeping god gently.

"Wake up, Thor. And Tony, no, you don't."

Tony took one look at Thor's sleepy waking-up face and smirked.

"No. No I do not."

"Washapning" Came Thor's sleepy mumble as his eyes blinked open.

Stark had to hold back laughter at the slurred, barely intelligible, rumble. Bruce shot him a glare.

"We're checking up on Loki, and figured you'd appreciate being next."

"And considering I am your patient, did you not think it necessary to wake me, too," Loki's voice was as smooth as velvet, but nowhere near as soft.

"Of course not!" Tony began before Bruce could so much as open his mouth. "We were just planning on poking and prodding you in your sleep. No need to wake you up for any of that."

Loki's eyes hardened briefly, before a slow smirk spread across his face.

"Ah. Sarcasm. Is it not the lowest form of wit?"

Tony gasped and held his hand to his chest as Bruce moved forwards to begin undoing his bandages.

"You wound me. It cannot be the lowest form of wit, because it requires just the right amount of emphasis, of thought, and of word choice. What's best is when you speak it normally, but accompany it with a slight look of 'you're such an idiot if you believe this'."

Loki's lips twitched as he sat up and Bruce began de-mummifying him.

"Tony, are you going to help me here or not?"

"Yes, Stark. I really would rather be here as short a time as possible. Thank you kindly."

And then Loki, the smug, arrogant god that he is, placed his arms behind his head languidly, and smirked. The effect was ruined slightly by a slight wince, but the overall image was one of commanding a slave.

"Arms down," remarked Bruce idly, and Loki shot him a huffy glare, before lowering them once more.

Tony gently held one of his hands, before beginning to unwrap the bindings.

He held Loki's eye contact, and made his gaze as intense as he could, and watched with mild amusement and satisfaction as a slight flush began creeping across the other's cheeks. Overall, Tony had to admit he was impressed. That was the god's only reaction. His face was otherwise blank, and as Tony reached the end of the bandage, he arched an eyebrow.

The two remained frozen, before hearing a sigh from Bruce, and he placed a hand over each of their eyes.

"There," he stated. "Now neither wins and neither loses. Loki, if you want a bath, then get Tony to help me undo your bandages."

"You say that like I have some semblance of control over him."

Bruce lowered his hands, and gave them each a searching look, and he smiled softly, secretively, as he found whatever he had been looking for.

A low yawn came from Thor.

"If none have any objections, I desire food." He gave Loki a long look. He looked as if he were going to speak, but changed his mind, turned around, and left the room silently.

The rest of the bandages were unwrapped swiftly and placed in a bucket that Tony hadn't even noticed Bruce bringing in. Loki and Stark swapped scathing comments, rapid-fire retorts, and Bruce directed them if he felt them becoming too distracted.

Loki's eyes were sparkling with amusement by the time he was fully unwrapped.

Tony eyed him for a second, a speculative look on his face, before speaking to JARVIS.

"Take his measurements. You know his style. Order him some clothes. Smart stuff."

"Yes, sir."

Loki's brow furrowed, before he nodded.

"Now," Bruce interjected before either could speak, "that that is done, let's see about this bath."

Loki made as if to get out of bed, but the doctor pushed him back down.

"You're not moving until the bath is run. Hot or cold?"

The Trickster god looked at him as if he were stupid.

"Who takes cold baths?" He asked incredulously.

Banner shrugged.

"It couldn't hurt to ask. Tony, go run it."

The man in question glared.

"JARVIS, run the bath. My temperature."

"Certainly, sir."

Bruce laughed softly at the billionaire, and began checking Loki over.

"You're healing at an extraordinary rate," he murmured as he did so. "All signs of internal bleeding are gone, most of your bones seem to be partially healed already. Minor injuries are still present. It seems as if only the worst and potentially life-threatening injuries are healing at an extremely accelerated rate, all of which are almost completely gone. Lips seem to be healing at an accelerated rate, too. Are completely back together, but injuries are still highly visible." He stepped back. "I think you'll be healing at a mortal rate from here on in, by the rate of your other healing injuries. And yes, you may have a bath."

Bruce looked taken aback at the sudden, bright grin that spread across Loki's face, taking Tony's breath away momentarily. The smile was gone as suddenly as it had appeared, and the doctor looked confused for a second, as if unsure whether he had hallucinated it or not, but green eyes sparkled and danced their way through Tony Stark's mind.

Rational thought chased, captured, and locked the smile behind the bars of Tony's mind before he could fully appreciate its meaning, and a larger part than he expected was left mourning its loss.

The bedroom door shut abruptly, and he realized that he had missed Bruce's last words.

He looked at the god questioningly, and the bed-ridden figure rolled those fabulous eyes of his.

"You're to help me bathe, apparently."

Tony smirked lecherously.

"Oh I am, am I?"

To his surprise, Loki swatted at him, and scowled playfully, but made no other move.

"Now," he said, rather than addressing Tony's comment, "carry me."

There was a pause.

"I'm sorry what?"

The billionaire's gaze was incredulous and startled. The god hadn't wanted any help or aid of any kind.

"I truly cannot be bothered moving, and since you are currently being my servant in many ways, shapes and forms, carry me to the bath."

To Loki's apparent surprise, if the slight widening of his eyes for a brief moment was any indication, Tony laughed.

"Yes sir, anything for you, sir."

Without warning, he scooped the god up, abruptly, but as gently as he could, and spun, carrying him bridal-style into the next room.

Loki laughed the whole way, a few strides though it was, and Tony simply grinned.

* * *

The Trickster god his holding his side surreptitiously as Stark puts him down. Mirth fades from the god's face as he tries to replace his mask, cracks that show in the crinkling around his eyes, and the light within them, still present.

Tony knows the laughing has hurt him physically, and he gently places him on the edge of the tub.

"You're way too light, you know. I will make it my personal mission to ensure that you gain weight again."

Loki smirked.

"Will you hold grapes above my head, fan me, and treat me like royalty?"

"You are royalty."

Tony responded before he had even thought of his words, and in the brief silence that followed, he saw confusion, pain and rage flash across Loki's face as the laughter left his eyes.

But he didn't apologise. It was insensitive, but it was the truth. Simply because Loki didn't recognize his adoptive family as family, it didn't mean they weren't. Besides, his blood parents were royalty. Thor had told them.

He didn't let the silence last very long, moving to cover his blunder.

"Into the bath you go, Loki."

And then the smirk was back, and Loki's broken mask in place. His eyes were dull, though, and to Tony, that seemed worse than before.

"As you wish."

And then, abruptly, he stripped the rag that had been tied around his waist, and slid into the bubbles. The speed of the movement took Tony by surprise, and the flash of pain across Loki's showed what it had done to him.

But he settled in with a contented sigh, and everything relaxed, and Tony just slid down the wall to make sure he didn't drown, and watched in wonder as peace and satisfaction spread across Loki's face, and smiled softly.

He didn't think it was cute.

No matter what anyone thought or said, he most definitely did not. It was the steam talking.

Obviously.

* * *

Tony lost track of time as Loki soaked. His eyes would drift shut every now and then, but he would snap them open, and keep them trained on the god. At one point, Loki had let himself sink under gently, and Tony had snapped upright, before noticing the deliberate 'my face isn't under the water' expression that the Trickster was giving him.

He scowled, and Loki smirked, before letting those emerald eyes of his gently slide shut once more.

But when Loki finally sat up, and said that the bath had gone cold, Tony's eyebrows shot up. The bath was designed to retain heat for as long as possible, so if the bath had gone cold, probably meaning lukewarm (which was truly horrid), then they must have been in the room for a few hours at least.

Apparently not one for modesty of any kind, at least at this moment in time, Loki stood up, and grabbed the warmed, soft towel that Tony was holding for him, and wrapped it around his shoulders. They were large towels, Tony's favourites.

It curled around Loki's shoulders, and still reached his knees. Tony held another one for his hair, wet from where he'd gone under, but not washed.

At Stark's curious look, Loki gave an unnecessary explanation.

"I desired my first bath to be relaxing, rather than washing. That, I will do tomorrow. I might need your help."

The statement was punctuated with a wink, that Tony wasn't sure he'd imagined or not, and didn't know how serious the Trickster was. So he simply smirked, and scooped the unsuspecting god into his arms, and put him back into bed, covered in new, clean sheets (thank you Bruce), where he fell asleep as his head hit the pillow, wrapped up in a fluffy white towel.

Tony gently pulled the covers up over him, and left the room, closing the door behind him as softly as he could, listening to Loki's breathing over the sound of a draining bath.

* * *

**So I've learnt a few things in this story. Firstly, I really do suck at long pieces. And this is long for me. Multi-chaptered! Woo!**

**Secondly, I am not going into another story without a plan. I know how I want this to go, and a vague idea of how I want it to end, but really, I went into this mostly blind, and it's taken a few unexpected turns since the beginning.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I promise I'll try to have the next one up sooner!**

**This piece is unrelated. A friend in school was given a homework assignment to write a 50 word story, so I wrote this for her to show her that it isn't that difficult. He Is Coming was the only word document I had open at the time, and I didn't want to lose the piece, or save it separately, so it's here now!**

The handprint was blazing red on her cheek as he slammed the door behind him. It wasn't like anyone hadn't seen it coming, but it wasn't like she could leave now. She ran her hand over the bulge on her stomach, and turned her tear-stained face back into the pillow.


End file.
